


How Benedict Cumberbatch Ruined My Life

by Cinderella1181



Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-01-23 21:17:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 42,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1579817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinderella1181/pseuds/Cinderella1181
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benedict Cumberbatch has the scandal of the year when he does something so out of character that it sends everyone reeling. Especially Polly Constantinides, who loses her job over it. When Benedict comes up with a plan to make everything right, he gets a little more than he bargains for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is all a work of fiction, Ben is really very much a gentleman and I am very sure would NEVER DO THIS. That being said, I needed a jumping off point, or else, this whole idea wouldn’t work. I promise by the end of this…Ben will be the one we all know and love.
> 
> PS. There is some use of the F-Word in here.. so be forwarned!

Benedict woke with a start. His mouth felt like a cotton ball, his eyes were blurry and he was vaguely aware of a voice in the other room. He looked at the bedside clock. The red numbers said 4:07. Good lord, that couldn’t be right. There was no way in hell he had been sleeping that long. He sat up—or, at least, he started to sit before he quickly lay his head back down with a long moan. 

When the room finally stopped spinning, he opened his eyes again and glanced back at the clock. 4:15. God. He hadn’t had the spins that bad in years. What on earth had be done last night? And why on earth had he done it? He slowly got up, a little bit at a time, getting himself into a fully upright position. No spinning. So far so good. He groped around for his mobile and came up with nothing. Sighing, he would just have to find it later. 

He stood slowly and carefully and leaned on the wall. Fuck, this was all Tom’s fault. He didn’t remember exactly why it was, but deep down, in the very pit of his stomach, he knew this was his fault. With careful steps, he made it into the bathroom and leaned over the commode to relieve himself. 

He tried to remember what had happened, but there was nothing but green and fuzz and lights and gasps. Why on earth were there gasps? He rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes. God, he hadn’t felt like this in years, he was sure of it. He reached down, flushed, haphazardly straightened his boxers and made his way out of the bathroom and in to the living room. 

Karon sat on one of the plush couches, ear pressed to the phone, hand massaging her temple. “As I have said, several times now, there will be no comment made at this time. A statement will be released later this evening, tomorrow morning at the latest. Mr. Cumberbatch is not available for any interviews. That is all we have to say on this matter. Thank you. Good afternoon.” She hung up and slung the phone down on the table as she looked up in his direction. “Well, look who finally woke the fuck up. My star fucking client.”

Ben stood motionless, his eyebrow raised. Karon never cursed. Even when he knew she was mad at him on a fundamental level, she never cursed at him. “Um, you’re supposed to be in New York with Eddie.”

“You are absolutely right, I am, especially when one of my oldest clients and great friend is getting a fucking U.N. humanitarian prize, because of the work he has done in the last year bringing comedy to children ripped apart by bombs in the Sudan. But no. Instead I am here, in LA, cleaning up the mess that the one client I never have to worry about has made,” she said. 

The door to the suite opened to admit Tom and Luke. Luke sat next to Karon and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “If you need anything, or anyone, you tell me and I will send them over in a heartbeat. Especially since it seems it was this idiot’s idea in the first place. It is the least I could do.”

Karon smiled and patted Luke’s knee. “Thanks. I think we may need Tom to issue a statement later on in sup...”

“Will someone please tell me what on earth I fucking did?” Benedict said. 

Tom went over and rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You don’t remember? At all?” 

“No, I don’t, I just… barely remember getting dressed after swimming in the pool yesterday… god, fuck, what went on?” Ben asked. 

Karon looked at him forlornly and typed something in to the computer. A few seconds later Youtube popped up with a video. It was him in the press line at the Emmy’s, being very goofy, and fighting very hard against Polly, one of the Karon’s junior publicists, was clearly trying to wrangle him from the line. And then all at once the whole world slowed down as he watched in abject horror. 

He made his way to the next journalist who was very, very round and heavy with child and grinned at her. “Will you have a look at these...” he said, so very clearly, and reached out to grasp her breasts in a firm squeeze. Polly stood behind him attempting to stop him as the journalist gasped. 

When things couldn’t possibly get any worse, they did.

“Ahhooogaaahhh...” he bellowed and squeezed again, which he followed by a quick, “Honk, honk...” 

The screen went black. 

Ben stood there a moment, he looking dumbly at Karon, and then to Luke and finally to Tom. All at once, he rushed over to the sink at the mini bar and heaved. His stomach emptied before he dared to look up at them, though there wasn’t much to evacuate.

“Oh, god. I have to apologize to Polly. I was a complete ass.”

Karon shook her head. “You can’t. I fired her this morning, she is on her way back to England now.” 

“What? Why? This is my fault Karon,” Ben replied. “That’s not fair to her.”

“It is your fault, and she never should have let you get out of the limo in the state you were in. It was a rookie mistake and one she won’t make again. What on earth were you doing?” she asked. 

“Absinthe,” Tom said quietly. 

“What?” Luke said. “What!”

“Well, we’ve done it before, and I was fine and we had the same amount!” Tom said. 

“But he’s on the Tramadol for the rotator cuff still, he can’t drink on that really, let alone drink absinthe! Oh my god! TOM!” Karon said. “You ninny!”

“He was doing fine, we had like three beers at the pool, and then the two shots of absinthe… and then…” Tom said.

“Oh my god, please stop!” Ben said. “Don’t tell her, she’ll just tell my mother and we’ll never be allowed to drink on vacation again.”

“I’ve already talked to your mother twice. I’ve bought you a little time on that front,” she said. 

Ben looked at her, dropping down in to the chair and rubbing his face. “Yes, I drank way more than I should have. Yes, I had way more than I should have and Tom is an incredibly bad influence on me. I know that. Thank you for speaking to my mother, but you didn’t have to fire Polly. That was excessive,” he said. “This is all my fault and I am going to take full responsibility. We’ll issue all kinds of apologies.”

Karon looked at Ben. “This may be beyond that. I don’t know if I can fix this one, Ben. I really don’t. I mean, I am good, but I am no miracle worker. You assaulted a woman on international television.” 

“Wasn’t there a delay?” Tom asked. 

“There was,” Karon said. “And that might have saved him some embarrassment if some gossip TV show hadn’t picked up the video and released it almost five minutes later. It was online before he was even in his seat. By the time the telecast was over there was over three million hits on YouTube and he was trending so high on Twitter. Yeah... you don’t even want to know.” 

“Fuck.” Ben sighed. “This isn’t going to go away by Kythira?” 

“This isn’t going go away by the release of Aphrodite,” she said. 

“FUCK,” he said again and rested his head in his hands


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polly makes it home.

Polly opened the door to the house and was greeted with an abundance of laughter from somewhere inside. She set the suit case down and took off her coat and hung it on the rack and just stood there a moment. How on earth was she going to explain this to her mama and those two tiny faces? She rubbed her hand over her face and slid the shoes off her feet and went down the hall and stepped in to the kitchen. 

“I hope Yiayia made enough dinner for mama!” She said as she rounded the corner. 

It took a moment for the twins to realize who was talking. Ari and Alex scanned until they found her and they both started to talk and struggle at once. “Mama! Mama!” They said in unison. Polly went over to them and sat on the bench that was nestled between their high chairs and snuggled them the best that she could. 

She looked up and met the eyes of her mother. “You’re home two days early.” Her accent was much thinner than usual. “Does this have anything to do with what was on the news?”

Polly didn’t answer, nodding simply and rubbing Ari’s head. Her daughter looked at her and held out her sippy cup for her. Polly took it and pretended to take a drink before handing it back over. She smiled. “Mmm good baby.” She kissed her head and looked back up at her mother’s deep brown eyes. “I really don’t want to talk about it mama, not now.”

“I know you don’t,” she replied. “But like I always say to myself- Helena, it is best to say things and get them out in the open.” 

“You also spit on me for luck before I leave the house. That clearly didn’t work this time,” Polly replied and shook her head as she reached in and tickled Alex. 

“I am only a mother.” Helena replied. “Not a miracle worker.” 

Polly lifted half of her mouth in a smile and looked at her. “Thanks mom.”

“Tell me, please.” 

Polly sighed and stood up and went over and wrapped an arm around her mother. She rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “I got up yesterday morning to a text message from Karon, she was in the suite,” she said and reached over her mother’s shoulder and took a piece of fresh pita. “I went in and Karon sat me down and said that, while I was doing a very good job, something like this was a major faux pas. This was something that she hated to do, but that she was going to have to let me go. She was however going to give me a full severance package because, it was very obvious that I was trying very hard to get Benedict out of the situation.” 

“So, you go on and find a new job now,” Helena replied and shrugged a little. “You are smart and young and you will be able to do it easily.”

“Mama, I don’t think it is going to be that easy. I am going to have a mark on me now,” she replied. “To hell with Benedict Cumberbatch. God, that man couldn’t hold his liquor if he had a ten gallon bucket.” 

Her mother smiled a little. “Then you are not going to want the flowers that he sent?” 

Polly stepped away from her mother and moved to look at her. “What did you just say?” 

“He sent you flowers, beautiful ones. They are in the dining room. I opened the box, I didn’t read the note, I just saw that they were from him.” She replied and continued to cook. 

Polly stood there for half a second before she moved through the kitchen and through the door that lead in to the formal dining room. There sitting in the middle of the table were fifteen long stem red roses. She went over and took the small card from the middle of them and opened it up. 

_Polly-_  
I am truly sorry for the pain that I have caused you. I know that these simple words cannot express the deep regret that I feel. I hope when I get back to London you will allow me to see you and apologize to you in person.   
I am so sorry.   
-Benedict. 

Polly read the note a second time and clinched her jaw. The anger that she had pushed down on the whole plane ride home bubbled to the surface again. She took the card and ripped it up and marched back into the kitchen and opened the bin and threw it away. She stood gripping the sink wanting so badly to cry.   
She heard one of the twins call her. She took a deep breath and wiped a hand over her eyes. She smiled and turned around and went over and picked up Ari from her high chair and kissed her. 

“Do you think he means it?” Her mother asked simply.

Polly looked at her. “I thought you didn’t read the note.”

“I may have accidentally glanced at it,” she stated simply.

Polly was quiet for a long moment as she bounced the baby and she finally shrugged. “I don’t know mama. I had only met him once before. It seemed very out of place for him. But still, I get that he’s a celebrity, but, I just…” 

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I just wished he had thought about someone else other than himself. There are people in the world other than himself, and some of those people have responsibilities and can’t afford to lose jobs even with very generous severance packages.” 

Helena nodded and put the spoon down on the cradle, wiping her hands on her apron and heading over to her daughter. When she reached her she put her hand on her back and rubbed. “You will keep this family together, you will find a new job, and you will provide because your papa and I did not raise you to be a quitter.” 

“No, you also didn’t raise a girl who would get knocked up out of wedlock, but here I am.” She said and sighed. “Mama, what if I can’t find another public relations job? What do I do?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t tell you that. You have to make those decisions. But you will make the right choice Polly. I know you will.”

“I am glad you have some confidence in me. Because right now, I have none.” She replied and shook her head.


	3. Chapter 3

Benedict got out of the lorry in the front of his house, walking around to the back and heaving the two large bags out from the boot. He paid the driver and started up the small walk way to the front door. He was a surprised to not see every single female neighbor that he possessed standing in front of his house with pitch forks and burning pitch, but he was glad for it. 

He slid the key in to the lock and when he went to turn the tumblers he found it open. He frowned and slowly opened the door, stepping in. He was greeted with the bitter aroma of coffee wafting through his house. That could only mean one person was sitting somewhere on the inside. His father. 

He sighed deeply, hauling his things in and shutting the door behind him and walked in. He took off his cap and hung it up before starting off in to the house. It wasn’t an overly lavish house, one that was well appointed, but clearly needed more than a mother’s and sister’s touch to it, and very obviously was lived in by a bachelor who traveled a great deal. He headed towards the kitchen and found his father sitting at the small table in the window that looked over his back garden. 

“Father, I hadn’t expected you to be alone. Mother didn’t come?” Benedict questioned and went to the refrigerator to get himself a bottle of water. 

“No Benedict Timothy, she did not.” The elder Cumberbatch said quietly. 

Benedict stopped in his tracks. Hearing two of his given Christian names meant that he was certainly in trouble. The lack of Carlton also spoke volumes, he knew right where he stood in the eyes of his father. Benedict took the bottle of water over and sat down at the table. “Father…”

Timothy held his hand up and Benedict said nothing further. “To say that I am greatly disappointed in you is an understatement. This is not at all how you were raised.”

“Yes, father, I know,” Benedict replied quietly. 

“Your mother has done nothing but cry for the last two days. It is not good for her heart. Which, I might add, you have broken. She cannot even bare to speak your name, young man. The level of disrespect that you have shown to that woman is incomprehensible. Do you hear me? Completely incomprehensible. And just what are you planning on doing about it?” Timothy asked. 

Benedict sat there just blinking. “Mum’s been crying?”

“Non-stop, Benedict. She is beside herself, ‘How dare he ever touch a woman like that, he was raised to respect women. He has a mother and a sister, and that woman is to be a mother, she should be cherished and honored.’ I have never in all of my years of being married to her, all of my years of being your father…Never have I seen her this angry at you.” Timothy said. “Even when you stole the Corvette and joy rode around with the parking brake on and got hauled in by the Bobbies, she was a little forgiving, but this…”

Benedict felt his chest tighten up, he could take the disappointment of his father, but he had never been able to take the disappointment of his mother. Hearing his father describe to him the kind of pain that he had put her through was killing him. “Dad, I was drunk, very drunk…”

“And that makes this okay?” He asked. 

“No, god no. That fact makes it even worse. Father, what I did was reprehensible. I can’t even begin to tell you what the last two days have been like,” he sighed and shook his head. “I have been verbally abused, flipped off or cursed out by every woman I have seen. I have been neglected by the air hostess. I am fairly certain my drinks and food were all spit in, by the way. I have been living in a nightmare of my own invention.” 

“Good. You deserve it.” Timothy said taking a drink of his coffee. 

“I do. Every single second of it. Dad, it’s so bad, Karon won’t even talk to me. You know it’s bad when she won’t talk to me.” Benedict scratched at the back of his head. “I have the journalist problem, which, god knows, what Karon is going to do to fix all of that, but even worse than that I have the Polly problem.”

“Oh?” Timothy intoned. “And just who is Polly?”

“The junior PR rep who I got fired because of my antics.” Benedict answered and began to rub his temples. “And part of the reason I was drinking so heavily in the first place.” 

Timothy didn’t say anything for a moment and then finally he did. “You think she’s pretty then?”  
He nodded, sighing as he took a drink and lay his head down on the table. “It was supposed to be Dylan until three days before we left, then Dylan got in that bloody accident and they scrambled and Karon thought to give Polly a break and let her try her hand, because who is her easiest client? You guessed it. Me. And then in she walked, like a goddess and I couldn’t help it. I got all nervous.” 

“Around a girl?” His father asked him. 

“Yes, but not just any girl, she’s tall, and dark haired and she has these eyes.” He replied. “She is stunning.”

“I see, then a girl that you fancy.” Timothy said. “That still doesn’t give you the right to do what you did.”

Benedict picked his head up off the table and nodded. “I know and I will make all this right. I promise. I know so very much that I am in the wrong on this one dad. You don’t have to assure me that I am. I realize it fully.” 

Timothy let the corner of his mouth hitch up a little. “And that is the son I raised. I will talk to your mother, and your sister. “

Ben ran a hand over his face. “Thank you. Karon wants me to keep quiet in the press. She is going to release a statement tomorrow morning, a formal apology, and then later on I am going to go on one of the news shows and make a statement, and then she is going to try and get me an interview with the journalist, and then in just 7 days I leave for Greece for three months. “ He let the hand rest on the back of his neck, and looked at his father. “I can still use the house while I am there right? Mum won’t take that away from me?”

“No, you can still use that,” he replied and smiled. “And the Polly matter how are you going to fix that?”

“I don’t know. Try and find her a new job. I sent her flowers. The shop left a message for me on my mobile that said they had been returned to them…um…decapitated, and that could they please let Mr. Cumberbatch know that he was a right arse.” Ben winced as he relayed the phone call. “I think I may go over to her house tomorrow and try to see her, and apologize in person.”

“That may be a wise idea.” Timothy said and stood. “You’ll make this right.”

“Of course I will,” he replied. “Did you really expect me to not?”

“No, I guess we really didn’t. “

Benedict stood up and looked at his father. “I will fix all this, but please, please get mum to stop crying. You know, I don’t do well when I know that I’ve made her cry.” 

Timothy laughed and smiled. “I will go home and talk her down from the ledge. Did you learn a lesson from this Benedict?” 

“I did.” He replied. 

“And what was it?” Timothy asked as he put his coat on and fished the car keys out of the inside pocket.

“Never drink Absinthe with Tom Hiddleston.”


	4. Chapter 4

Benedict looked at the scrap of paper in his hand and the numbers on the door. He was in the right place, on the right road, in the correct neighborhood. He had found her. The florist had assured him that this was, indeed, the address that Ms. Maskill had sent over to them. He declined their offer when they asked if they could send more, and instead chose to deliver them himself. So there he stood, two dozen more roses in his hand with the hope that his appearance with them would save their little heads from joining their mutilated brethren. He knocked firmly, stepping down and waited to be admitted. Strange noises came from inside, making him raise one of his eyebrows. There was a string of Greek curse words and finally the door opened wide.

Polly stood there her hair piled on top of her head, dressed in sweat pants an oversized t-shirt. She looked at him for a second before her eyes narrowed. “You!”

The door slammed in his face before he got a word out. 

Benedict took a deep breath and knocked again, with a great deal more force this time. “Polly, I know you’re in there and you can hear me. Please open up the door. Please.”

There was silence from on the other side of the door for a moment. Then suddenly a voice called out. Her voice. “Go away Benedict. I don’t want to see you.” 

“Polly. Please open up. I…I know this is all my fault. I just…I have to make this all right. This is my fault. This is all my fault.” He pleaded through the door. 

He heard a click and watched the door swing open quietly. There stood a shorter woman with a baby in her arms. A miniature version of Polly, all dark hair and curls looking up at him. The woman held her hand out for the flowers and passed the child over to him. He held the little one close to him and smiled a little as the child sunk naturally on his hip. The older woman leaned in and whispered pointing to the little one. “Ariadne. Keep going… she won’t hit you if you’re holding the baby.” She motioned him in to the house. She disappeared, to put the flowers in water Benedict assumed. 

Benedict began to walk through the house holding the little girl in his arms. He rubbed her back with one hand and smiled at her. “Where’s your mama…hmm?” He finally turned into the den to see her sitting on the floor with a second child of the same age sitting on her lap. “Please hear me out...” 

Polly looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. “My mother and I are going to have a very long conversation.” She shook her head. “Talk, you’re holding my daughter. Beaming you with toys isn’t going to happen now.”

Benedict smiled at her and then looked at Ariadne. “Your Grand-mummy is very, very smart. I like her.” He kissed the babies temple and looked at Polly again. “I’m so sorry Polly. There are no amount of words that can even begin to express the level of how sorry I am. I should have never put you in the position I did and I should never have done what I did. I am, the worst possible sort of man. I have a mother and a sister and I was always taught to respect women, all women, and to not do that to someone who is going to be a mother, and to find out that my actions caused a mother to lose her job...I…” He sighed. Every word he said was genuine, you could tell by the way he said it, and he hoped Polly was getting that. “I am truly and deeply sorry for all this. I really am.”

He watched her. She looked at him unmoving for a second and then, from somewhere deep in her, she let out a sigh. “Apology accepted.” 

“Really?” He asked. 

“Yes. But, an apology like that doesn’t help the fact that I am without a job and as you can see I have three mouths to feed.” She replied. “So, please don’t take much offense to the fact that I am not overly enthusiastic about said apology.” 

Before he even realized what was happening words were coming out of his mouth. “You can come and work for me.”

“What?” She said. 

“Come and be my personal assistant…in Greece.” He said quietly. “I am going to need someone and Karon said you spoke Greek fluently. My Greek is rusty at best. There is plenty of room at the house.” 

“Benedict, I just can’t up and leave the kids with my mother for…what…3 months.” She said. “No, thank you for the offer but no.”

“Bring them along.” He replied. What on earth was he doing? Every time he opened his mouth he sunk himself a little deeper in this hole. “My parents have a house on the island, and that is where I will be staying. So there will be plenty of room for them and you and me.” He smiled. “It could be fun. It’s has its own private cove, a secluded little spot.”

“Benedict, thank you for the offer but, no.” Polly said. 

“Why not?” He asked. 

“Yes, why not?” Helena’s voice came from the other door way. 

“MAMA!” Polly threw her hands up in exasperated horror. “Stop!”

Helena appeared from behind the door and looked at her daughter. Her hands firmly planted on her hips. “He is offering you a job, you should take it. I don’t see you out looking for one. And like you said, you have three extra mouths to feed!”

“Oh my god, can we not do this right now while he is still standing right here?” Polly asked, her eyes flicking back and forth between him and the older woman. 

“How about you think on my offer and then tomorrow you and I can meet over coffee and we can work out more of the final details of it.” Benedict said. “I think your business consultant would like you to have a meeting with her this evening over dinner.” His eyes traveling over to woman, hands firmly planted on her hips.

“He has a lot of sense this one. I like him.” Helena said, hitching her thumb in his direction. “More so then the last one.”

“Oh my god, mama, you can just stop right now,” Polly started and threw her hands up in the air. “Fine, fine. I will consult with my… business manager. And then I will have coffee with you tomorrow morning.”

Benedict smiled at the baby. “Now see, was that so hard Ariadne?” 

“We call her Ari.” Polly said. 

“Ari…” He replied and bounced her a little. The little girl giggled a little and grasped his face with both her hands. “I like it. And her sibling?”

Polly ran her hand over the other child’s head and smiled at him. “This is Alex.” 

“Beautiful Greek names.” He smiled. “And a boy and girl. You’re lucky.”

“You have no idea.” She said. She leaned in and kissed the baby on the cheek. She looked up at him. “I will see you tomorrow then Benedict?”

He looked at her and nodded. “Of course. I will text you the information.” He said. “There is a little coffee shop around the corner from my house, run by men, should be safe for me.”

She chuckled. “That bad?”

He set the little girl down by her mother and brother. “You have no idea.” He smiled. He turned towards Helena. “Thank you for inviting me in to your home. I appreciate the help.” He winked at her. 

“Oh…any time. Let me walk you to the front door.” She said and took his arm. “Don’t get up Polly. Just continue to sit there. It’s fine…the gravy for the moussaka will just cook its self while I walk him out.” Benedict stifled a laugh as he was sure he heard a long string of curses in Greek as Polly stood up and took the twins, each by a hand to disappear behind a door as Helena ushered him back towards the front door. She looked up at him. “Can I touch your hairs?” 

“Excuse me?” He asked. 

“They are long and soft... no. They look like that on Sherlock. I just want to see for myself.” She said. Benedict smiled and lowered his head. She reached up and touched his hair and grinned. “I will get her to agree. It will not be easy. But she will agree. I promise you. You will have the four of us in Greece. I will cook and watch the twins while you woo her.”

Benedict stammered a little. “Wha...what?”

“I’m old, not dead. I can see in your eyes.” She smiled. “Her heart… it will take some time. But you will be able to do it.” They reached the front door and she opened it and patted his arm. “I have not been back in Greece in many years. It will be nice to be home. You are a good boy Benedict.”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

She reached up and patted his cheek and shut the door behind him. He stood there on the front step and looked at the closed door. Were his feelings for Polly so transparent that people could read them that easily? He turned on his heel and headed towards his car. He had a great deal to think over and even more to plan before the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can follow me on Tumblr too!!!
> 
> I am there as cinderella1181
> 
> I know, I am pushing it aren't I!


	5. Chapter 5

Benedict had texted her the next morning asking when it was a good time for them to meet. She hadn’t wanted to but her mother had made several good points the evening before and before she knew what she was doing, she was once again bending to the will of her mother. Damn that woman and her sound logic. She had texted him back and asked him to meet in her neighborhood though, since Helena could only watch the twins for a short time that morning before she went to the hair dresser. He agreed and told her he would meet her at ten.

So now, Polly sat in the little café and waited. She looked up as the bells tinkled over the door. She chewed on her lip as she watched the glares he got from the various women seated in the various booths. Oh, this really had gone far and wide. He slipped in to the booth across from her and hunkered down. “Sorry I was late, the parking attendant at the lot…”

“Was a woman?” She asked.

He nodded and ran his hand over his face. “At least she didn’t try to spit on me. Mrs. Barclay from next door did. Granted she is eighty seven years old.”

Polly laughed a little and tried to hide it behind her hand. “I’m sorry. I just…did she try and hit you with her broom too?” 

Benedict frowned a little. “No, but I am sure if she could have she would have done a lot more to me. I help this woman in her garden and buy groceries. You think she’d be a little more accommodating.”

“You assaulted a pregnant woman on the telly. You’re lucky you’ve not been run over by a car yet.” She said. 

Before he could say anything the waitress appeared with two cups and a pot of tea. She saw him and bristled. 

“Thank you Nicki. That will be all,” Polly said and took the pot by the handle and the spout gingerly. She set it down on the table and smiled at her. “I will take it from here.”

The waitress dropped the cups on the table and walked away. “At least she didn’t spit in the cups or the tea. Thank you for thinking of ordering before I got here.”

“I can’t promise if you order food,” Polly said with a little bit of a grin on her face. 

“I ate before I left the house just in case,” he said. “Wasn’t sure what kind of battleground I was going to be going into.” 

Polly grinned and poured a cuppa for herself and took a sip. “Coming to the house yesterday, that was not cool Benedict,” she intoned quietly. 

Benedict reached for the milk, pouring it and then the tea. “You sent back decapitated flowers, Polly. I had to do something. It seemed like the logical step. And it was your mother who let me in to the house.” He smiled a little and took a hesitant sip before continuing on. “I like her.”

“Everyone likes my mother. Everyone.” Polly shook her head. “People who haven’t even met my mother like my mother. It’s who she is.” 

Ben smiled at her. “My mum is the same way. Did she manage to persuade you to take the job?”

Polly was quiet. She shifted the cup of tea around the saucer for a moment and took a deep breath before she began to talk. “Don’t think I am doing this because I can’t do anything else, or because I think this is going to be the only job I am going to find, I haven’t even begun to look. I haven’t Benedict. I have a little savings and a pretty good severance package. I was going to spend a little time at home with Ari and Alex.” 

“I didn’t offer it because I thought you’d not be able to find a new job.” He said. “You’re wonderful at what you do. I offered because it is completely my fault that you got sacked. And this will give you a little bit more time to save up some money so in case it does take you some time to find a job you don’t have to worry so much. I’m going to pay for everything. Everything. And still pay you a salary. It’s really the very least I can do.” 

“The least you could have done was listen to me when I asked you to not get in to the line,” she said quietly. “You knew it was my first night on the line.”

“I don’t actually remember anything.” He said quietly. “I pretty much blacked out after we got dressed. Tom and I did a second shot of absinthe, and well, it’s just fuzz until I wake up the next afternoon. I don’t remember a thing.”

Polly sat there staring at him. “You have to be kidding.”

He shook his head slowly. “Not a thing. I couldn’t tell you what either of us was wearing, how I got back to the awards or back to the hotel, let alone undressed and in bed.” 

“Me on both accounts,” she said. 

“I figured as much,” he said. “I appreciate it.”

She let a corner of her mouth go up. “You are very welcome.” 

“I didn’t do anything inappropriate, did I?” He asked her. His blue eyes searched her face. 

Polly took a sip of her tea, closing her eyes against the steam and letting it fill her with the warmth. She set it down on the saucer and looked at him and shook her head no slowly. “Nothing, Benedict, you didn’t do anything.”

“You’re sure?” He eyed her warily. 

Polly nodded. “You were a very drunk gentleman.” A very drunk gentleman who had gathered her into his arms and kissed her soundly. More soundly then she had been kissed in years. “You were asleep, I think, before you even hit the pillow.”

“With as much as I had to drink, I’m not surprised. One shot of absinthe is dangerous enough. Two is nearly murder.” He sighed and took another sip of his tea. “Thank you again for that. I do appreciate it. I am sure even my mother does.”

“I think everyone in your life does.” She smiled. “I can say, it wasn’t so bad, the muscles you have put on for Aphrodite are rather nice.” She grinned at him. 

Benedict laughed a little, the rumble deep in his chest. “Thank you for making me laugh. I don’t think I have in last few days. It is nice. So you will do it then? Come to Greece, be my assistant, my translator?”

“I will. And you will allow my mum and the twins to come?” Polly asked. 

“Very gladly. They are precious. Their father won’t mind them being out of the country for so long?” Benedict asked. 

“Their da is dead,” she said quietly. 

“Oh... Oh Polly. I’m sorry.” He replied. “I’m terrible. I am just… mucking up things just left and right, aren’t I? God. I am so sorry.” 

“It’s fine. It’s a long story. I promise to tell you one day.” A sad smiled crossed her lips. 

“When you want to, there’s no rush, we have four months in Greece,” he said quietly.

“That we do, Benedict,” she replied. “That we do.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we meet Polly's nemesis. I hope you all like who I picked!

Benedict walked in to the rehearsal space and rubbed his face, his eyes darting around. He wanted nothing more than to just get his pages they were going to be reading that day and sit down. He wanted to just blend in to the wood work of the room and not be seen or accosted by anyone. 

“Oh my Benny darling!!” A voice rang out behind him. 

And of course that wasn’t going to happen. She was here. 

He turned around and tried to smile a little. “Rebecca. You’re here already.” He said. “How wonderful.”

“Of course I am. I just had to be here. I was determined to be here for you. I knew you had gotten such a bad rap about this whole tugboat gate thing and I wanted to tell you I was one of those few females that support you. I know that was so out of character of you.” She said and wrapped herself around his arm. “My sweet Benedict wouldn’t do something like that.”

He bowed his head a little. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” 

“Rebecca, could you come here please?” One of the assistant directors called. 

She leaned in, kissing his cheek and walking away, she gave him one look over her shoulder before turning her attention to the AD. 

Benedict sighed. What had he done to deserve this? He had enough problems with the Polly situation, the last thing he needed was Rebecca Hall falling all over herself trying to get him to pay attention to her. He had hoped that her crush on him from Starter for 10 and Parade’s End would have subsided. It was years ago. But the day they had walked in to rehearsals nearly five weeks ago, she had been back to being all over him. 

He sat down and the AD came over with the script and handed it to him and he smiled and gave his thanks. He thumbed through the pages. 

“Did you really mean to do that on the telly mate?” A mild Australian accent filtered down to his ear. He looked up in to blue eyes. 

“No, Jai, that was not something that I was planning on doing. Believe me. That was not something I was planning on doing at all. I just got…knackered out of my mind and it just sort of happened.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I hope that some part of me deep down regretted it the moment I did it. I don’t know. I don’t actually remember doing it.”

Jai Courtney laughed out loud, slamming a hand firmly on the smaller man’s back and sitting down next to him. “Oh my, you really made a mess of things then didn’t you?” 

“Oh, you have no idea the kind of mess I made.” He shook his head. “On how many levels did I make a mess? Like, about 1000.” Benedict said and nodded his head in the direction of Rebecca. “And now, she is going to want to try and be supportive and get her claws into me which I have been artfully dodging for the last, god, close to ten years.”

“She does seem to know when you’re around doesn’t she?” He laughed. 

“She does. She always has. You should have seen her on Parade. It was merciless. She really thought she was married to me. Like, we really were married. I just…it was terrible.” He sighed. “And then there is this girl, I am trying to I guess, woo, I don’t need any help from her.” 

“A girl?” Jai asked as he looked at his own pages. 

“Yeah, and that one is going to make it hard. I can just tell.” Ben said. “You have to help me. I don’t care how you do it, just, be my wing man.” 

Jai laughed and put his hand on his side and shook his head. “What? No, you have to ask Hardy to do that. Just because I am playing Ares does not mean that I am going to take one for the team here and try and court that level of crazy. I am not…no. No Benedict.” 

Both Jai and Benedict looked over to where Rebecca was with the dresser, she looked over her shoulder at them and dropped the sun dress off her shoulders and pulled the peplos up and over her body. She smiled and winked at Benedict and turned back to the costume girl. “Did she just…” Jai started. 

“Yup.”   
“In a room full of people?” 

“Yup.” 

“Just how many compartments are on her crazy train?” 

“A whole lot.” Ben said. “The one nice thing I have going for me is, Me, Polly, Helena and the kids are not going to be at the hotel with everyone else. So I won’t be quite in the mix with all of that crazy. I will get a chance to be away from all of that…” He made a sweeping motion to the woman standing there in the thin piece of material. “…that craziness.”

“Yeah but that leaves the rest of us, in the lioness’ den if you will.” Jai laughed. “Not all of us were so privileged that we grew up summers on Kythira and have a house there with a cove and a beach and terraces and romance and blah,blah,blah.” He shook his head. 

“It’s my mum and dad’s house and I am just glad I am going to be able to still use it. I was sure after the awards she was going to strip me of it. I would be down in some fishing cottage. And I will have you know, I have two women coming to live with me and two 21 month old twins. So, do you want to switch places with me?” He asked. “I’m sure those twins would just love to climb all over a big fella like you.”

“Most likely. Kids love me. No I will stay at the hotel, you can get up in the middle of the night with them.” He laughed.

“Thanks, that is just what I wanted to hear.” He laughed.

“You’re very welcome.” Jai said. “Do you think she is going to cause you a lot of trouble?”

“I hope not. I really like the girl. I mean really like her. And I seriously think I am in love with her mom.” Ben laughed thinking about Helena. “If worse comes to worse I think I am keeping her.”

“That’s kind of twisted, and a little kinky.” Jai laughed. 

“Well, I am a man of many different pleasures.” Ben said. “As my escapades on the telly proved.”

Jai laughed shaking his head. “Touche.”


	7. Chapter 7

Polly opened up the door, her hair was a mess, she had one screaming twin on her hip and another was sitting just behind her in the entry way. “Oh god, I forgot you were coming to sign contracts. Come in.” She said and moved aside to let Benedict walk in to the house. “Take one will you?” She pushed Ari off in to his arms and bent down to scoop up Alex, walking further in to the house, hoping Benedict realized he needed to follow her. If he wanted her to work for him, and was willing to tote the family along, he was going to have to get used to screaming twins. He had taken the hint and rounded the corner in to the kitchen a few seconds after she did. “They are cutting back molars and are just unbelievably miserable, and they’re hungry and they’re tired but they don’t want to eat and they don’t want to sleep, and they don’t want me to hold them but they don’t want me to put them down either.”

Benedict nodded and rubbed the little girl’s back. She cried and buried her face in to his neck. “Is there anything I can do? I don’t mind helping. I am in no rush, we had the last few things for rehearsals today, and we are all on our own until next week when we meet in Greece. I am open the rest of the day.”

“My mom will be home in a little bit, it’s really okay Ben,” She said. “You don’t have to.”

“I would love to. They are going to be living with me, I may as well get to know them a little bit you know. We are all going to be a part of the same little family unit aren’t we, for a while anyway? How about this, I will take them up and give them a nice bath, let them play a little in the warm water, tire them down a little, and then you bring me up their bottles.” He said. “I’ll get them down to nap, you make us some lunch. Give me an hour.”

Polly raised an eyebrow. “You think you can do all that in an hour? Bathe them, bottle them and nap them?”

“I can.” He said. “I have magic.” 

“Oh really…” She looked at him. “Okay then show me, Mr. Magic.” She said. She shifted Alex over to Ben’s other hip. “You go right ahead up stairs and work your magic, I will put their bottles in their room, and I will makes us some lunch. If you need any help…”

“Won’t be necessary.” He said and smiled at Alex. “I have this. I was an uncle before I left for Harrow. I have been doing the baby thing my whole life. I am good at it.”

Polly raised her eyebrow and nodded her head. She watched him turn and disappear around the corner. By the time he reached the stairs, they already seemed quieter. There was no way in hell it was working. No way! She frowned a little. They had been screaming for, god, she had forgotten how long. It had been, what seemed like hours and hours. 

She watched the clock, the minutes clicked by, as she worked on lunch. She did what he had asked making them each a bottle with cereal in it, and had sprinted up the stairs to put them in their room. She could hear him in the bathroom with them, laughing a little, and hearing them babble at him. Chewing her lip, she went and stood by the crack of the door. There he was seated on the floor running the warm lavender smelling water over their backs. They there chewing on terry washcloths, which she knew had to feel good on their sore gums. She watched as out of nowhere, Alex suddenly yawned, and then his sister. Polly smiled and stepped away from the door. Maybe he did have magic. 

He was certainly beginning to have a little magic over her. She went back down stairs to finish cooking. It wasn’t long before the hour was up. And then an hour and a quarter slipped by and then an hour and a half. She began to get worried.

Polly headed back up the stairs expecting to find him mucked up to his knees in naked baby, but that was the exact opposite of what she found. He was sitting in the rocking chair one twin nestled in each arm, bottle lazily held by each of the twins, mouths working out of instinct, heads lulled to the side by all three, fast asleep. Polly chewed her lip. She had never seen anything more precious in all of her life, and she had never seen anything that broke her heart more at the same time. She was sure that she had some kind of feelings for him, but it wasn’t right for her to have them. Not when she had the twins. She didn’t want to be one of those women who put their children through an endless stream of men. She had made that decision the day Nico had died. Her whole life was wrapped up in them, so the glimmer of feelings that she had for Ben, had to be just that. A glimmer. But there was something deep in her that told her that it was more. She stuffed it down. Mostly with Baklava, but she stuffed those feelings down. 

But had he meant what he had said earlier? That they were going to be a family unit? Did that mean that he had feelings for her? And more importantly, did she really want him to have feelings for her?

“He looks good holding them.” Helena said whispering as she appeared at her side. 

“He does. He did this all himself.” She smiled. 

“You know, he will fall in love with them, and then you will have no choice but to fall in love with him. He won’t let them go after this movie is done.” She intoned. “I could stand him to be my son in law.”

Polly looked at her. “Mama!” 

“I could. He is better than that Nico, rest his soul and bless him for giving me my angels. But look at him, he took them on, no questions asked, head on. That says a lot about the man, no matter what the news says about him.” She said. “Help me move the babies, you two go have a nice lunch. I bring you home some spanakopita and loukamades.” She touched Polly’s arm, smiling up at her as she walked in and gently picked up Alex from Ben’s arms. 

Polly went and picked up Ari and the shift in the weight from the second twin being moved woke him up. He looked up at Polly as she shifted the little girl in to her arms. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” he whispered, his voice as soft as thunder. 

“No, it’s fine. You did just what you said you were going to do.” She smiled a little. “Let me put them down and then I will meet you downstairs and we can go over the contract and eat lunch if that is okay?” 

“That sounds wonderful.” He smiled and stood up and stretched. He went over and kissed Helena on the cheek and smiled at her. “Did you do something different to your hair it looks lovely, my darling.”

Polly watched her beam at him in a way she hadn’t seen her mother light up in a very long time. “I just got back from the beauty parlor. I wanted to look nice for when we got to Greece. We are from Kythira, you know. Did Polly tell you that?”

“She didn’t.” Ben grinned. “I am sure there are a lot of things about her I will learn in the next few months.”

“I am sure there are.” Helena said, watching him as he left the room. Helena turned towards Polly and stuck her finger out at her. “You need to not be so stubborn like your father, Hippolyta, and fall in love with that man. Because he is perfect for you.”

Polly let her eyes go to the door way that Ben just left through. She couldn’t say the words out loud to her mother just yet, but for the first time in her life, she was pretty sure she agreed with her.


	8. Chapter 8

Ben was sitting at the table looking over the contract when Polly walked in to the kitchen. He smiled at her and motioned to the glass of water. “I hope you don’t mind.”

She shook her head. “No not at all. In a Greek household, we say god helps those who help themselves. It’s fine. Do you want to do the paper work or eat?”

“Let’s get the paper work out of the way so we can eat without it looming over our heads. Is that okay?” He asked motioning to it. 

She came over, sat in the chair next to him, and shook her head. “That works perfectly for me.” 

Ben slid the contracts over to her and pointed to a blank line. “Your name goes here. I didn’t have it all, so Darrin said you can just write it in pen there. But it has to be your full name, first middle and last.”

She nodded, holding her hand out for the pen he had. He handed it over and watched her as she tidily wrote out her full name. He craned his neck a little and grinned. “Really? That’s the whole of it? Hippolyta Athena Constantinides?”

“I know, it’s so incredibly Greek. I was born on Kythira, but my mama and papa moved here when I was 6 months old, so I have been here since then. I really consider myself more British than Greek in that aspect. I did, however, go to Greek school and I spent summers and a lot of holidays on the island.” She smiled. “So I am excited about going back there, Ben. I really am.”

“I am thrilled to give you the chance to go.” He smiled. 

“Thank you. And thank you for taking my mama along. She’s not been back since my papa died. I think she is far more excited than even I can begin to tell you.” She touched his arm smiling. 

Ben smiled and laid his hand on top of her hand. “You’re very welcome, Polly. Thank you for doing what you are doing for me. It will be nice to have someone around who speaks fluent Greek, who can keep easy schedules, who if I need to book airline tickets and what not can. It’s all outlined in the contract what I need you to do. Outside really of some general personal assisting, and translating, your time is your own. I promise to not make it very difficult. I am to mostly lay low, and lick wounds. I have, as of 7 a.m. this morning, issued a very humble, very formal apology about tug-boat gate and I am not to go about rebuilding my image.” 

“Tug-boat gate? Is what they are calling it?” She chuckled. 

“Yeah, not very clever, but that is what they have latched on to. I have also made several large, and I do mean large donations to women’s groups and mother’s advocacy groups and breast feeding groups and, you name it I’ve sent it. So, I won’t be doing much in Greece but sitting at the villa.” He smiled a little. “It will be nice to have you, Helena and the twins around to keep me company.”

“Well, it seems like a nice enough job… and,” She stopped and looked at him, then back at the paper then back at him. “This is way too much money for that you are expecting me to do, and my mama to do Ben, way, way too much.” 

He shook his head and made a dismissive motion at her. “You deserve it, you are going to be putting up with me. Plus, you’re going to have to be taking care of the babies and you don’t know how much things like nappy’s are going to be there. No, it’s fine. Believe me, I can handle it.”

“Are you completely sure?” She asked. 

“Completely. You just worry about making sure everything during our time there runs smoothly and I will worry about making sure that you are paid well. I will even make sure that there is a nice little bit set aside so Helena can get her hair done.” He smiled. “I will take care of both of you, while we are there. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

Polly studied his face a moment and then nodded, chewing her lip. “Thank you. Honestly Ben, if I save well enough while I am there, when we get home, I’ll be able to not work for a year. It’ll take a little pressure off of hurrying to find a job. You’re being far too generous. Really, you are.” 

“You’re not having a job is my fault. This is the least I could do.” He smiled. 

“Well, I hope that you will quickly learn that if you just listen to me, your life will just generally be so much easier.” She smiled at him. 

He laughed. “You think very highly of yourself, don’t you?”

“Well, my mother didn’t NOT raise a strong Greek woman.” She giggled a little. She signed the contract and dated it and slid the paper back over to him. 

He quickly signed it as well and looked it all over and slipped it back in to the large manila envelope that it had come from. He smiled. “Welcome to Team Cumberbatch, Hippolyta.”

“If you ever call me that again I will make sure my mother feeds you rotten feta.” She smiled sweetly at him. 

He laughed. “Okay, I swear that will be the only time. Polly suits you better any way.” 

“Thank you. I appreciate that. Polly was the one thing I got from my local British school that I loved, it was the only British thing that carried over home. My papa thought it was very cute and picked up calling me that as well when I started primary school. Before that it was Hippy.” She laughed a little and stood up to begin to bring out the various items that made up their lunch. 

Ben watched her move around the kitchen. He couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of calm about it. There was something so right about sitting there with her moving around the kitchen, talking to him. It was like she belonged in his life doing this. 

Ben wasn’t sure why he was beginning to feel like this, but every moment that he spent with her cemented the fact that he did have feelings for her. He did feel a certain way about her, and now he was beginning to feel similarly for the twins. They had both sunk down in to his arms like they belonged there, there was no hesitation, no uncertainty. None of that, they just went to him like he was their own. He had been dying for children of his own. Could he take on these two? His father had taken on Tracy, and had often said he loved her just as much as he loved Benedict. 

Maybe he was getting a little too far ahead of himself. He looked over at Polly with her dark brown hair, her olive skin, her beautiful eyes. She was the epitome of a Greek goddess. “I don’t think Hippy suits you.”

She shook her head and brought over the salad and the spanakopita. “I didn’t think so either, so when the teacher asked if she could call me Polly, I jumped at the chance.” 

“Wise girl.” He smiled. 

“I am named in part after the goddess of wisdom.” She smiled at him.

“That you are.” He smiled at her. “I hope you are wise when it comes to a great many things.”

“Oh really? Like about what?” She asked. 

Benedict looked at her. He licked at his lips a second and stammered a little. “Uh…just about, you know…things.” 

She raised her eyebrow at him, but thankfully didn’t press him any further. “Yes, well, I hope that taking this job was the first thing I was wise about. I am going to be honest, I feel a little over whelmed by it all.”

“Really?” He asked, a little taken aback by that. 

“Yes, this is a lot to take in Ben. All of this.” She said. “But I think in the end, this may end up being a very good thing. At least, I hope this is a good thing.” 

Ben nodded his head. He took one of her hands in both of his and kissed the back of it before looking in to her eyes. “I endeavor to make this a most excellent experience for all four of you.”

She looked at him, nodding slightly. “Okay. Thank you Ben.”

“You’re most welcome Polly.” He said. “Most welcome indeed.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Airport hijinks, Rebecca cattiness and something kinda important is revealed about Ben!
> 
> xènos= outsider in Greek!

Benedict walked towards the gate and scanned over the heads. He heard a tiny laugh and a voice saying something, then two little arms wrapped around one of his legs. He looked down and was greeted with the most beautiful hazel eyes he had ever seen in his life. He smiled and plucked Ari up in to his arms and held her close. “Well hello there, Princess.” 

“Eny!” She exclaimed and wrapped her little arms around his neck and held him tight. He laughed, rubbing her back and kissing her head. 

He looked up and saw Polly standing there, her hands on her hips. He went over, balancing the little girl easily on one hip, his lap top case on his shoulder. He smiled at her. “I seem to have found a friend.”

Polly nodded. “I think you have. At least she one woman on this concourse who isn’t looking at you like you should burst in to flames at any moment. However, holding the baby is seeming to help a little bit.” 

He chuckled. “I am sure my mother will be just chuffed to know that.” He sighed. “She’s still not talking with me. This is the longest span of time that she hasn’t. I am wallowing. I am a mummy’s boy. I can’t take it much longer.” He said as he leaned in. “I don’t know what to do… your first job as assistant is to assist me in getting her to speak to me again.”

She smiled a little and nodded. “It’s almost a 7 hour flight sitting next to my mother holding one of them, I am sure I will gladly think of anything I can rather than think of my situation.” She said. 

“Benedict is that you?” A voice rang out behind him before he got a chance to answer Polly. He was sure he felt his testicles re-ascended in to his body. 

He turned, Ari still on his hip. “Hello, Rebecca.”

“Oh darling, whoever does that child belong too, pass it back and come with me to the lounge. Let us get a drink. I somehow managed to get the seat next to you on the flight.” She said and waved at Ari. 

“Rebecca, this is Ari, and this is her mum, Polly.” He said moving a little. “Polly is my personal assistant.”

“Oh.” Rebecca said, eyeing her from head to toe. “Hello.”

Ben watched Polly square her shoulder’s a little. “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you, I look forward to working with you the next few months. If you need to get in contact with Ben when you’re off set, please call my phone first, whole scandal and all. I’ll patch your right through to him, here, let me give you my number.” Polly took out a felt tipped marker from god knows what pocket of her jeans, grabbed Rebecca’s hand and wrote her mobile number across it in lime green. “Just text me first so I have your number in my phone.”

Rebecca stood there and looked at her, her mouth a little agape. She looked at him and he smiled. “It’ll be a lot easier if you ring her Rebecca, she’s going to handle the phone line at the villa. Polly did you get that seat changed also?” 

“Um…I was just going to work on that.” She said. “That was what I was coming to talk to you about when she got away from me, go over what that plan was one more time?”

“Letting your mom have my seat in first class remember, we discussed it last night. Her back is really bothering her. I am going to sit back with you and the twins?” He said, giving her a glance that said so many things.

“Oh, yes that. You have to be the one to change the ticket.” She said. “But really Ben, it’s too much.” 

“Yes really, Ben, you belong in first class not back in coach.” Rebecca piped up. “You’re a star.”

“We’re in business.” Polly said.

Ben hid his smile in Ari’s hair as he kissed her head. He came up from it and shook his head. “No. I insist. I will go and change it now. Rebecca, will you wait here a few minutes? I will go and get Helena. I am sure that she would love for you to take her to the first class lounge.”

Ben was sure he had never seen one person’s face show such abject horror in such a short amount of time. He watched her pull it together. It had been him who had made the request, of course she was going to do it. “Of course, I would love to.”

“Excellent. Just wait here.” He smiled and left the two women there, hoping that it wouldn’t cause too many problems. He kept looking over his shoulder as he talked to the gate agent at the kiosk. The agent asked him several times if he was sure, and he nodded. He was positive he didn’t want to sit next to Rebecca for the next six and a half hours. He looked and saw that they were just standing there, he looked at Ari and shook his head. Ari shrugged at him and put her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on hers while he waited for the woman to finish with the exchange.

Helena was a strong woman, and would put Rebecca in her place. He was certain of that. He was almost certain that if he asked Helena if he could date her daughter she would let him. Wait. What?

Was he really thinking about that, now, of all times?

The agent handed him the revised ticket and boarding pass and he turned around to see Polly standing there her arms crossed and boring her eyes into Rebecca’s head. He smiled. Yes, he was going to think about it and he was going to think about how much he was falling for her. A little more every time he saw her. Now if he could only make her see that. He went over and handed her the ticket. “Here you go Polly, go ahead and give this to Helena. I am sure she will be glad for the surprise.”

“I am sure she will. You didn’t have to do this Benedict.” She said quietly. 

“Yes, Benedict, you really didn’t have to do that.” Rebecca said pouting at him. 

“No, I think I did.” He said. 

Polly smiled and turned and headed off to give the new boarding pass to her mother. Rebecca turned and looked at him. “What are you doing? You don’t belong back in…business or coach or anywhere where you will be holding a child for the next 6 hours, Benedict. You belong up front with the beautiful people. This is completely ridiculous. I just don’t understand why you are doing this!” 

“Because I am a gentleman.” He said simply. “And the fact that you don’t understand that says a lot about you. This is why you and I have never gotten together.”

“Oh Benedict! Don’t be ridiculous!” She exclaimed and threw her hands in the air. 

“I’m not, and you can stop right now if you think this whole Greece trip is going to end up being us getting together, it’s still not going to happen, Rebecca.” He said. 

Rebecca looked at him and then turned her head in the direction that Polly went. “So you’ve already found someone have you?”

“No,” He said carefully. “I just, it’s not going to work between us.” 

“Oh I think it will. You’ll see. I am not the same girl you knew before. I am older, more mature. You’ll see, Benedict.” She said. 

“Rebecca, there really isn’t much you can say that is going to change what I feel.” He stated simply. 

“Well. I am determined to show you and I am determined to get you and I always get what I want, Benedict. Always. So be ready.” She said. 

“Oh I think I am.” He said. 

Polly walked back over with Helena in tow, Alex on her hip. “Rebecca, I’d like to introduce you to my mother Helena.”

Helena eyed her for a moment and then in the thickest accent he had ever heard her speak in said rather loudly, “I have to sit next to this xènos for next six hours?”

“Ma!” Polly exclaimed. 

Helena looked at Polly and broke in to Greek. “That filthy girl is trying to take Benedict from us…”

“Mama! He’s not ours.” Polly answered back, her Greek lovely on her tongue. Ben smiled a little and kissed Ari’s head. How wrong she was. “She is the star of the movie and you need to be nice. He was being kind and letting you sit in his seat. Now, I’m not saying you can’t be a little surly but, don’t embarrass him, do you understand?”

He watched as Helena nodded her head. “Everything okay then?” 

“Oh yes, she was just asking me about, the...um…inflight movie.” Polly said. 

“Yes, I want to make sure it one I not seen. If not I get tablet.” Helena replied.

“Oh okay.” Ben replied. “You’re good? Rebecca, will you take her then?” 

“I…yes…fine. Come on, Helena is it?” She said. She stood there with her hands on her hips. 

Ben grinned, knowing Helena wasn’t going to embarrass him but she was going to chew her up and spit her out. Helena handed Rebecca her travel bag and her carry on. “Thank you so much for helping an old lady. I think I would like two drinks before we board…”


	10. Chapter 10

Polly looked over and smiled a little. Alex was sprawled out on Benedict’s chest, asleep. Ben had his head back and his eyes were closed as well. Something deep in her felt warm. They looked so good together. Polly sighed and ran her hand over Ari’s hair and down her back, she was joined in sleep with the others.

Polly turned her attention back to the book in her hand and tried to not shift too much under the dead weight of her child that lay on her, but with each passing minute it was getting harder and harder to ignore and she needed to use the loo. She stood gingerly and curled Ari up on the seat and took Ben’s hand and placed it on her back. He felt her and rubbed her back and out of some deep instinct kept his hand firmly on her back, keeping her safe in the chair. 

Polly smiled and walked to the front galley and let herself into the loo and used the facilities. She stopped the air hostess. “Excuse me, my mother is sitting in first class, is she causing any problems?” 

“Who is your mother?” The woman asked. 

Polly’s eyes scanned and found her sitting on the aisle seat decked out in a robe with slippers on. “The lady in 2B, Mrs. Constantinedes.” 

The hostess began to smile and shook her head. “No, she is wonderful. She has been nothing but sweet and honestly, Ms. Hall has flown with us a few times before, getting ready for this movie, and she is nothing if not…pushy. Your mother has kept her quiet and in line. It’s been delightful. We’ve been loving having her up there.” 

Polly nodded. “Alright, well if she is any trouble, let me know. I’ll come have a talk with her.” 

“No, she is fine.” She smiled.

Polly nodded and headed back to her seat. Upon her arrival, she found Benedict was awake, but the twins were still blissfully asleep. “Did my leaving wake you?” 

“No, she shifted a little, I felt her.” He said as he moved his hand and allowed Polly to pick Ari back up and settle her back on to her lap. “You could have woken me though, I would have shifted the boy a bit and held them both while they slept.” 

Polly shook her head. “No, it was fine, I knew I wasn’t going to be gone that long, I didn’t want to disturb you if I didn’t have to.” She rubbed the back of Ari’s head. She hunkered back down into her mother’s chest and popped her thumb in her mouth and fell in to a deeper sleep. Polly leaned down and kissed her. “You were all sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to bother any of you.”

Ben looked over at her, their eyes locked. “I wouldn’t have minded. I’m surprised he wanted me to hold him. Usually it’s been Ari who has wanted me.” He smiled. “They really are beautiful Polly, just beautiful. Is it strange I think about them all the time?”

She shook her head a little. “I think about them constantly. Every waking moment.” She smiled. 

“I’ve wanted children for so long.” He said, pushing a little hair from Alex’s face running one of his fingers over his brow. “I always hoped they would be at least as lovely as the both of them. You made the most beautiful children. Their father must have been very handsome.”

Polly sighed a little. “He was. Very. Nico was tall, and had lovely auburn hair, and light brown eyes. He was handsome and swept me off my feet, but he wasn’t the best choice.” 

“Polly you don’t have to tell me…” Ben started.

“No…really, it’s fine. I mean, it’s not like it’s a secret really.” She said quietly. 

“How did you meet?” Benedict asked. 

“I worked as a waitress, in Mr. Papadoukis’ restaurant, and Nico was his nephew. He was from Mykonos and he was exotic cause he had the accent you know. So we met and oh god Ben it was all fast. We dated and after three months I was pregnant.” She shook her head. “I think it was because my papa had died the year before and I was just in need of something you know. So, Nico and I when we found out, we got married. But, I said I wanted to keep my last name, I’d give the twins his, but I wanted to keep mine, and we used to argue about it. All the time. One night, after one of the big arguments he went out and did shots of ouzo with his cousin and on his way home…”She stopped, she rubbed Ari’s back. “Three weeks to the day after his funeral in England, I went in to labor.” 

Ben reached out and touched her hand. “I’m sorry.”

She turned her head and looked at him, resting it on the head rest. She studied his face a moment before quietly going on. “Don’t be sad for me Ben, please don’t be. I couldn’t have had it all happen better. Nico’s mom had died about a year before we met him, and his dad died a year after the twins were born. He didn’t even want to see them. His sister and I email, I send pictures, but they aren’t very interested in them, and I am fine with that. Mr. Papadoukis’ sees them once a week and he is happy, and they are loved by their yiayia and their mama. And honestly, I am much happier without him too.” 

“Did he hurt you?” He asked.

“No, he was a good man in many ways, he was just still very traditionally Greek. I am not. I was raised in Britain. I am like I said, more British then Greek. He wanted me to give up everything, make babies, cook dinner, keep house…” She said putting on the thick accent. “I wanted to live, work and meet him half way. He wanted me to be subservient. It wouldn’t have lasted long in the end Ben. I know that now. I have the hind sight to see that.”

“And then you got the job with Karon, and I went and mucked it up…God I am such an idiot.” He sighed. 

“I worked hard to get that job with Karon. I interviewed three times. Finally the third time, she looked at me, smiled, said she liked my tenacity and gave me the job the second I walked in the door.” She smiled. “But if it hadn’t been you, it would have been something else. I wasn’t really ready to get off the desk, I wasn’t ready for a big client. I can see that now, and once my tenure with you is over, I will get out and look for a new job. She gave me a really great letter. And who knows, maybe you’ll give me a great letter too…” She smiled. 

“Of course, not that it’ll matter right now, with what my reputation is, but you will have it.” He said. She sensed there was something there, something left unsaid. She was almost certain she knew what it was, it was the thing that was beginning to hang between them, thick and heavy, unspoken. The thing that they both were beginning to want to talk about. “Polly…”

“Yes?” She answered, meeting his rainbow colored eyes. 

“What if, something was to happen and things changed and you found the right one. The one who made you fall in love and the one who could allow you to stay at home and raise the kids and…”He said.

“Ben… stop, please.” She said. “Please.”

He looked at her, his hand reaching up and settling on her face. “Just what if?”

She pressed her cheek in to his hand, for the briefest moment, she let her eyes flutter closed and let out a sigh. She opened her eyes and met his and looked back in to his and said barely above the faintest whisper, “I think that is already happening Ben, and I think you know it too.”

The side of his mouth hitched up a little, his little boy grin flashed on his face for just a second. “I know what I am feeling Polly. I just wanted to make sure you are feeling it.”

“Oh, I am. Trust me, I am.” She said. “But I’m so scared of it. I never thought I would…feel like this about anyone, let alone…you, after… so, please you have to give me time. Can you do that?”

“As slow as you want Polly. We have the next four months.” He smiled at her, brushing his thumb over her cheek. 

“It may take that long. You’re not going to want Rebecca before then are you?” Polly smiled at him. “If so, I will gladly move out of the way for you.”

“That was evil and uncalled for.” He laughed a little. “I have never wanted her, no I only have eyes for you Polly. Only have eyes for you.”

She turned her head, kissed his palm and moved it down in to her lap, holding it with both of her hands. “I think I like the sound of that.”


	11. Chapter 11

“How many suitcases can two small children need?” Ben asked as he lugged up the last of the luggage in to the house. “Is this really the last of it?” He called out. “There’s no more hiding anywhere?”

Polly came around the corner with Alexander on her him, and his heart stopped. God she looked so right in his life like that, now in his domain, with a child on her hip. It was perfect. He only had to convince her of it. And he was going to. Polly came over and looked and counted quickly. She smiled at him and grinned. “That is it, that’s all of them. Mama’s going to freshen up a little and head down to the market and get the staple things she needs for dinner tonight and tomorrow morning and then she and I will shop tomorrow, if you can watch the twins while we do?”

“I’d love to.” He smiled at her and grabbed at her hand. “You look good in my house Polly.’

She smiled at him and winked. “It’s your mum’s house.” 

“Possession is 9/10ths of the law now isn’t it?” He said and smiled at her as he walked away, letting her hand trail out of his. He smiled after her. He picked up one of the cases sitting in the entry way and started up the stairs. He had only gotten a few steps up when an all too familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. 

“Benedict Timothy! What were you thinking?” 

He smiled and put the cases down on the steps and turned and took the three steps down and wrapped his arms around the woman who stood on the foyer. “I was thinking, ‘Wow, Tom Hiddleston has the most excellent ideas.’ I made a critical mistake, sissy. A tragic and critical mistake.” 

Tracy Tabernacle wrapped her arms around her little brother and held on to him tightly and pressed her face in to his chest. “I should be very cross with you and if Mummy calls, I have been incredibly cross with you and told you just how awful you are…” She said. “But, you know you I can never ever be made at you my tiny darling.” 

Benedict looked down at her and smiled. He towered over her nearly 6 full inches. “I would be glad to tell her that if she was speaking to me. It’s been nearly a week and a half and she is still not speaking to me sissy. It’s killing me.”

“I am sure it is. You are such a mama’s boy.” She shook her head and reached her hand up and touched his face. “It’s so good to see you my sweet boy. You look so handsome.”

He smiled at her, feeling wrapped up in the love from her. She had been like another mother to him when they were younger, providing him cousins and built in playmates. That was what happened when your sister was seventeen years older. “You look lovely as ever. What are you doing here? Father didn’t say you would be here, neither did Siobhan when I talked to her last.”

“I got struck by inspiration and you know I always paint better when I am here by the ocean so I am down in the beach cottage. I spoke to Pop last night and he said you’d be arriving and told me mummy was still cross with you.” She said. “He did say you had some guests though, I am interested in meeting them.”

And as if on cue from somewhere deep in the house there was a great shriek and the pounding of tiny feet. Around the corner Alex came running at his full toddler speed, with Ari’s baby doll in one hand laughing the whole way. Ari was right behind him, her little pig tails flopping in the air shouting at the top of her lungs. “Awex! Awex! No! My Baby!” 

Alex laughed almost maniacally and looked forward just in time to see Tracy standing there. He stopped short, too short for his sister to register what was going on and she slammed right in to the back of him and like a tiny tree she fell straight over backwards, her head thudding on the floor with a resounding crack. 

There was a brief hesitation, the world stopped in those seconds, Benedict blinked, once, twice, three times before at the top of her lungs Ari let out a scream that would peel the paint off the walls. He bent over and scooped her up in to his arms and cradled her close kissing her head. “Shhhh shhh. I have you my precious. Shhh….”

Ari buried her face in to Ben’s neck and cried and gripped on to his shirt, he bounced her a little, using one of his big hands to hold her back, he half squatted down and held out his other to Alex who instantly gave up the baby doll to Ben. He moved and hid his face in to Ben’s pant leg and clutched him tight. Ben gave him a reassuring pat as he maneuvered the doll to Ari’s arms and ran his hand over the back of her head to back sure there was no bump. He looked at his sister and smiled. 

“Here are two of them.” He said and smiled. “This is Alex and Ari.” He cooed and kissed the little girls head, who had mostly stopped crying and who had settled herself on his shoulder, clutching her doll and sucking her thumb. “They are my personal assistant’s twins.”

“Oh, just her twins are they?” She asked, smiling slightly. 

“Well, I mean, I’ve taken a shine to them.” He said. His hand gently pressed Alex’s head in to his leg, as he peaked around Ben’s knees. “They are wonderful and smart and really very good and easy babies.”

“They seem it.” She smiled and squatted down and smiled at Alex. “Hello little fellow. Hello, I’m Auntie Tracy, come along let me see you…” She held her arms out for him. 

Alex looked up at Ben and he smiled and nodded and cupped the back of his head and gently guided him towards his sister. Alex went over and shyly went into her arms and soon was smiling as she raspberried on his cheek and hands. Ben smiled. “Honestly, I’ve quite fallen in love with them, and their mother too.”

Tracy smiled and kissed Alex just behind his ear. “I know, I can tell. You are at ease with them little brother. And you look so good holding them. I should take a picture of it and send it to mummy and pop. That’ll help you out immensely.” She laughed and pulled out her phone. 

Ben smiled and kissed the little girl just as Tracy did take the picture and shook his head. “I’m not sure anything at this point will help me with her. I may never get back in her good graces.” 

“Oh you will, don’t be too dramatic.” She smiled. 

“Ben, I finish making list for…”Helena rounded the corner and stopped. “Who is this?”

“Helena, I’d like you to meet my sister, Tracy. She will be down in the beach cottage. Tracy, this is Helena. Helena is going to be staying in the middle cottage.” Ben said. 

“And your assistant?” Tracy asked. 

“Oh she is going to be staying up here with the twins.” Ben said. 

Ben could see his sister’s eyes begin to sparkle. He knew the instant he had said it, he had said something that had ignited some plan, and worse, he had seen the look that had been shared between she and Helena. Oh no. This was not going to be good at all. 

He had wanted to woo Polly all on his own, in his own way, on his own terms. But he knew that those two would think of some kind of plan. 

“Tracy, I was going to take Polly to market, but would you like to go with me instead?” Helena asked. 

Tracy smiled setting Alex on the floor, on his own two little feet. “Helena, I think I would love to.”

Ben knew with that single sentence, he was doomed.


	12. Chapter 12

Helena walked down the small path that lead from the back door of her house to the beach, coming across the cottage she had hoped to find on the way. She knocked on the door and waited, looking out at the blue Aegean sea. She smiled. Being back home on Kythira made her feel happy. Everything about this trip had lit a joy in her that was indescribable. 

The door opened and Benedict’s sister smiled at her. “Hello there! I see you found the path easily enough! Let me grab my bag, put some shoes on, and we can go. Won’t you come in please?”

“Thank you! It really was an easy walk down. Not very hard to find and not far from my little cottage. I am sure the twins and I will be down here a lot for the ocean. ” She replied and stepped into the small house. She could smell the paint drying on the canvas, and the ocean through the open windows. “But I am glad for the company of someone my own age to go to market. I would hate to have had to bring Polly along with me. I would rather leave her with Benedict.”

“Me too.” Tracy replied. 

“Then you agree, about them Tracy?” Helena asked.

Tracy stopped in front of her and smiled. “I’ve not met her, but those twins! They are darling! My mum will just be over the moon for them. I sent her pictures of Ben and Ari already. I like you too, so I am sure if Polly is anything like you, I will like her. Do you have a plan?”

“I have the start of a plan, but I am going to need help. This is where you come in…” She smiled. “We will shop and talk about it. I think you and I are going to be very good friends.”

“Oh I think we are going to very excellent friends.” Tracy responded. 

~*~*~

Polly came around the corner and looked at Ben. He was sitting on the couch with the twins playing some game on the tablet. It was saying letters and making them match, and with each one that one of them got right, the other two cheered. She smiled and came over and leaned over the back of the couch. 

“Have you seen my mama?” She asked. “I was supposed to go the market with her, but she isn’t answering her phone, and the car is gone. Did she run off somewhere?”

Ben looked up at her and smirked a little. “She and my sister are plotting.”

“What?”

“It seems they are becoming fast friends and plotting. My sister Tracy is here, down in the beach cottage painting. She does this thing with ocean water and paints, it’s actually very interesting…”Ben started. 

“Okay, and this has exactly what to do with them plotting? Plotting what?” Polly asked. 

“About us I think. They shared a look. A look, I have only seen my mother and sister share when it comes to them trying to set me up with my father’s second cousin’s daughter for another cousin’s wedding. Murial had a clubbed foot and a lazy eye. She looked at you straight on over here.“ He indicated three inches to the left. 

“Ben, this is serious.” Polly said. 

“I’m serious too. I think she had a flipper too. She had head gear, I remember that. But Tracy and my mum shared that look of, ‘Oh yes, this is a most excellent idea and this is going to happen!’ Then it did happen and I was teased endlessly. She showed up at Harrow looking for me.” Ben shuddered a little. 

Polly picked one of the throw pillows up off the couch and beamed him in the head with it. That set the twins off into a cascade of giggles and Alex jumping on him. Benedict grabbed him up and started to tickle him, making the little boy laugh even harder. Polly grinned and handed Ari the pillow, Who hit Ben with it the best she could. 

“Help, help, I’m being oppressed!” He said and laughed. He let go of Alex to grab up Ari and tickle her, Alex grabbed a pillow from the other side of Ben and started his tiny assault on him. The whole time Ari shrieked and giggled as Ben tickled her. 

And like it was slow motion it all came to a stop, Alex jumped in to Ben’s lap and brought one of his sharp two year old knees right down in to his crotch. Polly bit back the laugh that threatened to spill forth as the tears welled up in Ben’s eyes. Polly tried, she did, but the laugh slipped out as he glared back at her and pulled the twins close to his chest. 

“Okay, okay no more jumping on your Benny, especially on…well, that. I would like to use that someday on someone very special.” He said and held them, his voice noticeably higher than before.

Alex took Ben’s face in his hands and looked at him with his big soft hazel eyes. “You ‘tay?” 

“Yes, I am okay. That may have been karma coming around biting me in the as…” He started. 

“Shhh…it’s bad enough they hear it all in Greek, not in English too.” Polly said and smiled at him. “I don’t think she had a flipper.”

“She may not have, but I was just making a point. My sister and your mother and I am sure my mother, once she is apprised of the situation by my sister, will all get into some kind of witches coven and light some candles and do some kind of mother sister magic and we will be forced to date each other. It’s all magic and dark arts. I have seen it happen before…” He said the corner of his mouth hitching up a little. 

Polly looked at him and shook her head. “Or…they take turns babysitting so we can go out on proper dates and take time getting to know each other on the nights that you have off from working.” She shrugged. “I’m almost certain that there is no black flame candle or virgin sacrifices involved in that.”

“I’m not so sure about that one.” He laughed. “I am sure one of them is running amuck.”

Polly cracked up and shook her head. She leaned in and without thinking she kissed his lips gently. Like she had the right to do it. Like they were already there in the relationship. “I see what you did there.” She said quietly.

Ben looked at her and smiled, “I’m glad you did.”

Their moment was broken by the sounds of the front door opening. “Are you going to help us? You are both young, Tracy and I are not. Come on!” Her mom called out. 

Polly righted herself and turned and headed towards the front door, her fingers grazing over her lips, a tingle from where she kissed him still there and throbbing, making her whole body light up with fire. She smiled a little. 

Her mama could have asked her to throw herself off the cliff at that very moment and she was sure, the state she was in, she would have obliged.


	13. Chapter 13

Ben looked at the script without really seeing. He had been called in to do a table read. He smiled a little and thought about the last two days that he had with what was slowly becoming the center of his universe. Polly and the twins. Helena and Tracy. The five of them made him happy. The five them made him smile every time his saw them, every time that he thought of them. He was sure he was just grinning like a ninny. 

He looked up and around the room, there was no one else looking at him. Good, he could have his moment to his self to think about them. He thought about just that morning, waking up, the twins curled up in the bed next to him. Each one having woke up at different times in the night. Polly not hearing them, his room closer to them. 

He had gotten up, gone in and plucked Ari from bed first, her eyes still filled heavy with sleep. From the smell the filtered up to his nostrils,it was obvious was it was that had woke her. He deftly changed her nappy, placing kisses on her belly, nestling her baby doll in her arms and carrying her into the kitchen. He took out the middle of the night bottle as Polly had called it and warmed it and carried her back in to his room and lay down in bed with her. She curled up in to the crook of his arm and held the bottle as he rubbed her belly, humming to her. His deep baritone and murmurs of love quickly putting her back to sleep, the bottle soon falling from her mouth. He smiled and closed his eyes, happy to have the small bundle of warmth lying next to him. He was just falling asleep when, the next tiny voice called out, sad tiny cries in the dark. 

He headed in and plucked Alex up and repeated the process with him. The changing of the nappy, the heating of the bottle, the snuggling in the bed. He took a little longer to put back to sleep, he was more restless the his sister, but finally he settled down, his tiny curls thick at the back of his head, one hand thrust out touching his sisters back, his tiny snores filling the room. The moon light from the open doors filtered in, and across them a little. And he simply watched them sleep. 

It was then he realized that he had to make this happen with Polly somehow, in whatever way, because he was completely head over heels in love with them. He was madly in love with every single thing about them. From their 10 tiny fingers and the way they gripped at his heart to the ten tiny toes that pitter patted through the house and brought laughter and joy. He loved them. And he wanted nothing more than to keep them, all of them. 

Polly included in all of that. The kiss that they had shared still burned on his lips. He touched them briefly and smiled. God, he was turning into such a girl. But when it came to her, it didn’t matter. Everything in his life was becoming about her and the twins. 

“Oh, such a faraway look, are you thinking about me?” A voice came from behind him. A hand rubbed across his shoulders and down his arm. 

“No Rebecca, this look isn’t for you at all.” Ben said and looked up at her. “It will never be for you, so please just stop trying.”

“Never, you know you belong with me. I just don’t know why you don’t see it.” She said and sat next to him. 

“Because he has the clarity to see crazy at 100 paces.” Jai said as he came over and sat next to Ben on his left. “I on the other hand love a woman who is a little crazy, it means they are willing to be a bit more adventuresome in bed. Tell me Becca…is that you?”

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t call me Becca you Neanderthal and the only way you will ever hear how good I am in bed is when Ben tells you himself.” She put her hand on Ben’s arm and squeezed. 

Ben looked at Jai and smiled a little. “Then you’re never going to find out the answer to that question friend, because I am never going to sleep with her.” He removed her hand from his arm. 

The look of abject horror on Rebecca’s face, the working of her mouth a bit like a fish and the deep laugh of Jai next to him, made Ben smile genuinely for the first time outside the house in a few weeks. He smiled and turned to take a few notes in his script trying to block out the bantering between Rebecca and Jai. 

“Ben?” A familiar voice spoke behind him. 

He turned and looked up, standing there was Polly, his cell phone in her hand, her finger covering the mouth piece. “Yeah? What is it? Karon?”

She shook her head solemnly. “No, someone even, well depending on how you look at it, worse, or maybe better, I don’t know, it all depends.”

Ben scooted the chair out and went to her and looked at her soft eyes. “Who is it?” 

She took a deep breath and held the phone out to him and removed her finger from the mouth piece. “Your mum, who, by the way is delightful.”

Ben took the phone from her and put his finger over the mouth piece and looked at her. “How long have you been on the phone with her? Is she still really mad at me, what did she say?”

“Long enough, yes and she can’t wait to meet me and the twins.” She smiled at him. “Don’t keep her waiting too much longer.” She winked at him and turned on her heel and walked away from him. 

Ben stood there transfixed a second before placing the mobile to his ear. “Mum?” 

“Benedict.” His mother’s voice came through the ear piece. 

A thousand things rushed into his chest and he wanted to say a million things to her at once, but he remained quiet for a second and finally found the words that wouldn’t make him sound like a small child. “How are you? Are you well, how is father?”

“I am fine, I just… am calling to see how you are? Your sister has been sending me…Photos.” She said. Her voice clipped. 

Wanda Ventham had been the most wonderful mother on the face of the planet, but she knew how to hold a grudge like no one else that Ben knew. He sighed. He knew this was the first crack in the icy exterior. He had gotten her mad in the past, but also knew he was nowhere near back to her good graces.

“I am good mummy. Going to be getting busy here very soon. Trying to keep busy with working and Polly and the Twins. Has Tracy sent you pictures of both the twins?” He asked. 

“Yes, they are both darling.” She said, a softness hinting in her voice, before the steel cut back in. “Are you going to handle your little problem?”

“I am, Karon is sending a basket, there has been a statement and an apology, which she has accepted and when she is back from maternity, I am going to do a huge interview for her. I am also setting up a big trust for the baby when it is born.” He replied. 

“I raised you better than that Benedict Timothy.” She said quietly. 

He was sure he could hear the emotion in her voice. 

“I know mum…I know. And I swear, I will be a better son and brother and hopefully boyfriend. I made a huge mistake, even if I didn’t know I was making it at the time, but it is no excuse, and I fully take responsibility for the actions.” He replied. He hesitated a moment and then spoke quietly again. “Mummy, please, please don’t cry, I was terrible. This is all my fault, and you have every single right to be mad at me and I am not worth your tears in this.”

“Oh, Benedict…” She said, her voice choked with emotion. 

“I love you, I am so sorry I disappointed you and…I…I’m not sure I will be ever able to fix that.” He said quietly. 

“I am sure you will do something, I am sure of it.” She said. “I love you too little boy.”

Ben felt his heart swell, nothing else mattered in the world, no in the universe at that moment. His mother had said she loved him. It had been too long since he had heard those words. 

“I love you to mum. I will talk to you soon. They are about to start soon and I have to give my phone back to Polly.” He said. 

“I like her Benedict. She is darling.” She said. “Just in those few moments I spoke to her. I really…and those twins of hers. Oh they are precious.” 

Ben smiled and looked over to her where she was talking to one of the other assistants. Her hand on her hip, her eyes smiling, her head thrown back in laughter. “I know, I like her too mum, I am working hard. I ruined her career and her life, but I am going to make it better. I promise you that.” 

“And I know you will. Call me in a few days darling.” She said. 

“I will, tell pop I love him.” He said. 

“Of course.” She replied. “Good-bye.”

“Bye mum.” He responded and hung up, he looked at the phone for a moment and finally walked over and handed it back to Polly. “She is impressed with you and the twins, and can’t wait to meet you.” 

“Well, that’s good.” She smiled and took the phone from his hand. “How are you with her?”

“On the road to recovery thankfully.” He smiled. 

“Well, good. I am glad.” She smiled. 

“I have to go back to work now.” He looked at her and reached out and touched her hair a little. 

“I know. Go. I will man the phone. And continue to bore holes in the back of Rebecca.” She said smiled, looking past him and waving a little. He turned and saw her waving at her. “It doesn’t seem to be working, I am going to have to double my efforts.”

Ben laughed and turned towards her. “Remind me to kiss you later for that one.”

“Oh, I will certainly remember.” She said after him. 

Ben headed back towards the table. He was sure there was nothing that the rest of the day could throw at him that could ruin his mood.


	14. Chapter 14

The sun washed the back patio, the breeze blowing, the clouds rolling across the sky. It was a perfect afternoon in Greece and Ben had it off. He had worked the last 7 days with little more time off than to come home, eat, help give the twins a bath, put them to bed and spend an hour or so on the couch with Polly, talking or laughing. 

They had settled in to a sort of domestic bliss, she was more forth coming with the kisses, still chaste. But they were there. And he loved every single one of them. 

He caught Helena and Tracy’s smile’s when they saw him with her. He was sure everything was going according to everyone’s plans. Those plans that he was more than happy to accommodate. He wondered if he should ask her out officially on a date. It seemed like a good plan. 

He huffed a little, as the wind got knocked out of his sails as Ari landed on his stomach and smiled at him. “Ben, Oat ten?” 

He smiled and kissed her head. “After supper we can go down to the ocean if you want. Do you want to catch a bucket of crabs?”

“Crabs are pin see…”Alex said and made the motion with his little hands. “Day hurt.”

“That is why you have to be careful.” He said and took the little boys hand and kissed the finger that had gotten pinched the last time they had gone crabbing. He had hollered a blue streak and when Ben finally calmed him down and told the offending crabs they were bad and not nice. He had exaggerated when he had returned to his mother and soaked up the love. By the time baths were finished, the whole ordeal had been forgotten. 

Ari had settled herself on to Ben’s chest and had plopped her finger in to her mouth, he could tell by the way she was breathing that she was beginning to fall asleep. He pulled Alex up on to the other side and after a few more moments of conversation with him, (‘Fissy tickle in the oat ten when day wim by...’) and Alex was asleep as well. Ben kissed each of their tiny heads softly and closed his eyes, he would just simply enjoy the moment.

“If I was younger, I’d be all over him….” Helena’s voice carried out of the house, her Greek perfect, native. It made him smile. It made him keep his eyes closed and just listen. 

“Mama, if you were younger, you’d still be old enough to be his mama. Let’s be real here.” Polly replied. 

The sound of the Greek on her lips did something to him deeper, lower. He hoped no one noticed the slight shift. 

“What are you going to do? About all of this?” Helena asked. 

“About what exactly mama?” She asked. 

“About the obvious way you feel about him. About the way he feels about you. And the twins. Everyone who is around the two of you for more than a minute knows the two of you feel something deeply for each other. Don’t play coy or try and evade this. You know I am right.” Helena replied. 

Polly was silent for a long moment and Ben practically held his breath. He almost felt bad for eavesdropping in on this conversation. Being the voyeur of sorts, the eavesdropper. But, this concerned him, and would affect his next move. 

“I do feel for him. A great deal.” She said. “But, am I really willing to drag myself and the twins in to the circus that is his life? And is he really ready for this? For being a father and settling down? No more parties and being famous. He will be tied to us, to this. Not everyone is ready for that. It’s not going to be easy and I’m not sure if I can just bring him in to our lives only for him to get sick of us and leave. I won’t do that to the twins.” 

“Have you asked him?” Helena asked, lowering her voice almost to the point he couldn’t hear what she was saying. “Have you said any of this to him?”

“No.” Polly replied. “I just…I am living in this fairy tale right now and I just am not sure I am ready to give it up yet.” 

It was silent for several beats behind him in the house. He wondered if they had moved to a different part of the house. One where they were away from ear shot. “You don’t have to if this is what he wants too. You know that, deep down you know exactly what he feels for you and those babies. You are just making excuses because you are afraid and I would be too, but you can’t live your life thinking that every man is going to be like Nico. Not every man is like him, and certainly not that one.”

“Mama, we are a lot to take on.” She said. 

“A lot to take on that he has shown you time and time again he wants. You have said yourself many mornings you find one or both of the twins in bed with him, he’s always got one on his hip, He treats them better then Nico would have.” Helena said. 

“That’s not fair.” Polly started, he could hear the slight rise in anger in her voice. He wished he could see her face, but here he was pinned under the twins. “He never met them, we don’t know what Nico would have been like had he met them, he would have loved them I am sure.”

Helena made a noise. Ben tried hard not to smile, but he was sure he could almost see the face she was making in his minds-eye. “He was not like your father. He was too traditional, he treated you too traditionally. You know Ben is the one for you, you know it deep down in her your heart. You know he will treat you as an equal, you know he will love you and take care of you. He will love those babies, he will love me. You know this is the right path that you are on Hippolyta.” 

“Then why am I so petrified?” She asked. “Why am I so scared of all of this? So afraid of the moment I say something to him and he laughs in my face and tells me, ‘No, you’re wrong I don’t feel anything for you’.” Polly said. Her voice filled with emotion. He could almost hear the tears, he wanted to get up, and he wanted her to know right then what he felt for her. “I can’t get out of my own head mama and I am afraid that if I don’t I will lose him. And that is the worst feeling in all of this. The thought that I could lose the man that I am falling in love with.” 

Ben let out a tiny gasp. His chest clenched, his heart sped up, and the air left his lungs. Had she said what he thought? His Greek was good, very good, but, no surely he had heard that word wrong. She said she loved him. 

She loved him. 

And he was sure that he loved her too.


	15. Chapter 15

Polly stood close to where the other personal assistants were. She had made friends with Rodger, who was Jai’s, but the rest had kept to themselves. It was like everyone knew she was there simply because Ben had felt sorry for her or something. She sighed. She pushed her hair over her shoulder and texted Karon, who was arranging interviews in Athens for later in the week. They were in the middle of shooting a scene, and from what Polly could tell it looked beautiful. 

She heard the director call cut and watched the actors disperse, and Ben made a direct line for her. She felt the flutter in her stomach when she saw him. He was so handsome in his costume. “You look dour, what’s wrong?” He asked, coming and looping an arm around her and pulling her in close to him. 

“Just trying to get everything all situated for Athens. Karon isn’t coming now, and so, I am going to have to go, which, means I have to leave mom with the twins. I just had wanted to not have any weekends away from them while we were here.” She said, rubbing her fore head. “It’s just a lot of responsibility since I fucked up so badly last time, and put us all in this position.”

Ben moved her hand from her face, leaning in, kissing her forehead, then resting his against hers and looking in to her eyes. “Yes, but this time, I will not be drinking with Tom. So, we have that going for us.” 

“That you know of, that man is like a ninja, he may just show up to make my life difficult.” She said quietly. 

Ben laughed and pulled her in closer to him. “Come on, let me get out of this and we can get home, I am done for the day.”

She let him take her hand and lead her through the maze of trailers to where the costumers were she went back to texting Karon while she waited for him. She sat on the steps and watched him flirt with the older Greek lady who had been assigned as his dresser. She smiled, the sight of him was making her do that more and more. Even as she smiled, the thought of this all ending in a few weeks was beginning to loom in front. It made her wonder if starting something with him was wise. 

Life just made everything around her, so, well…worrisome. She hated feeling like this. She had spent too much of her life in this state and she had promised herself she would no longer be here. Polly watched as he exited, come to sit next to her and kissing her. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I will ever be.” She smiled at him. 

“Let’s have dinner in town tonight since we are done a little early. We’ll go right there from here. Helena can make a quick dinner for the twins and we can bring her and Tracy back something. Then when we are done the four of us can watch a movie or some tv.” He smiled. “What do you think?” He stood and held out his hand, pulling her to her feet when she took it. “And once they are in bed, you and I can go out and sit by the fire pit, I have an off day tomorrow as they are constructing a set piece, Jai and Rebecca however are working. What do you think, does that sound like a good plan?” 

She smiled and nodded a little. “It does, only my mother already has dinner finished almost and is expecting us home.”

“Damn.” He said. “The rest of our evening sound good?”

“Yeah, or we could take the twins in to town and get ice cream.” She shrugged. “I think they would like that.”

Ben nodded. “Let’s do that then.” He smiled.

They slowly headed back to the car. Polly looked at the phone when it went off. “Oh, it seems your reporter has had her baby.” 

“She has huh?” Ben said. “Boy or girl?”

“Boy. Karon is getting a statement together to be released tomorrow, and a big basket of goodies for him, she alerted the accountant, it’s going to make the pockets hurt.” Polly grinned a little and texted back. 

“I would expect her to do no less.” He chuckled. “There are only two babies I am worried about taking care of from now on, so as long as it doesn’t cut into that.”

Polly stopped mid-stride and looked at him. “What does that mean?”

“What do you think it means?” He asked. 

“Ben…” She started. 

“Polly, look, we don’t have much time here, and I know you think we are just playing house, but, I don’t think of it as that.” He said, turning her to face him. “This, you and I…is something more than just, I don’t know, whatever it was that I felt for you the first time I saw you in Karon’s office.”

Polly looked at him, her eyebrow raised. “Ben, don’t say this, not here, not now.”

“No, I have to tell you. You’ve been avoiding this for weeks. Any time I start to say something you change the subject or you kiss me and distract me…” He said. 

“Ben, anyone could hear…”She hissed at him. “Not here.”

“I don’t care who hears that I love you Polly.” He said.

The entire world stopped spinning. Polly felt the blood rush in her ears, her heart pound. He loved her. He said the words. He had actually admitted it, out loud. She looked up at him, and said the only thing that came to her mind. “Why?”

“Because you’re smart and funny, you make me smile, your face is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see before I go to bed at night. You make me laugh genuinely, my skin tingles when you touch my hand or my arm. When you kiss me the world stops spinning, and I see the rest of our lives together.” He said. He touched her face, and looked at her. “Do you love me?”

Polly hesitated a moment. Deep in her heart she knew she did. She felt all the exact same things for him that he felt for her, but a part of her was afraid to say those words out loud to him, she could say them to the twins, while they slept, in her prayers at night. She had even said as much to her mama, but when she opened her mouth, “I...I don’t know Ben.”

He looked at her, blinking for a second and then just nodded. “I shouldn’t have just sprung it on you…”

“No, it’s not that…”She said, stopping him before he said something they both regretted, she could see it in his face. “I care for you, I do, deeply. I just, am scared. Of, so many things. And I just need a little time, to work out exactly what I feel and how I feel it. It’s not just me I have to worry about, I have the twins heart’s I am in charge of. I have to be sure that whomever I am bringing in to our life is going to be forever Ben. And I desperately want us to be forever. I do. I just, I am scared. I thought I had it before, and well, we know how that all ended. So please, give me a little time.” 

He took her face in his hands and nodded. “I can do that. I understand.”

“You do?” She asked. 

“I do, I want us to be forever too. I am a lot to take on.” He said. 

“Yes, being with you does carry a certain weight.” Polly replied. “There is a whole lot to think about.”

He nodded and leaned in and kissed her, slowly, his lips warm and sure. He broke away and looked at her. “Take your time, because I’m not going anywhere.”

“I hope that’s true Ben, because I’m not sure my heart could take it if you did.” She said quietly.


	16. Chapter 16

Polly came and sat on Ben’s lap in front of the fire pit and wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed by his ear. “You always manage to get them to fall asleep so fast, how on earth do you do it?”

He laughed a little and shrugged. “I guess I am just magic.” He ran one of his hands up and down her back, the other one settled on her thigh. “Your mom get down to the middle house safely” 

“Yup, she called me. Your sister came up apparently and they were going to have coffee and uzo.”She smiled. “The twins are completely knocked out, it’s just you and I.” Polly said quietly. “What on earth are you and I going to do?”

Ben turned his head and looked at her. “I can think of a few things.” 

Polly blushed. “Are we ready for that?”

He shrugged. “I think so. I mean, I’m not sure what on earth we have been waiting for.” He replied and ran his hand further up her thigh. “I know I think about it a great deal.”

Polly laughed and leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss. “Ben, you’re a guy, you always think about it.” She kissed by his ear. “Let’s go get in the hot tub, we can stay up late tonight since you have tomorrow off.”

Ben’s eyebrow peaked up as he looked at her. “Well, I like the sound of that, let us get going.” 

She giggled and stood up. She laughed as his hand pinched her bottom. She quickly went in to her room, looking through her cozies she brought and finally decided to bring out the small black number with the top that, she really should get rid of, it was far too small. She put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t the same size she had been when Nico had found her so long ago, but the curves she had now definitely made her look like a woman. She ran her hand over her thigh and sighed. 

This was either going to work or it was going to scare him off completely. She hoped it worked, since this was the first time she had worn this tiny amount of clothes in front of him. She walked back out, stopping to get a towel and headed out to get everything ready. She was half way done with the cover when she heard a voice behind her. 

“You’re wearing a suit?” 

She turned to see Ben there, nude as the day he was born. She started to laugh. “What on earth are you doing?”

“I thought we were getting in the hot tub.” He replied. 

“We are, but I said nothing about us being naked.” She grinned at him. “Oh my god, look at you, just naked as a jay bird.” 

“You don’t have to keep laughing at me.” He said covering himself. “You’ll give Big Ben a complex and he won’t chime for you.” 

Polly looked at him, and after two beats nearly fell over from laughing so hard. “Oh my god, did you really just…chime? Really? He won’t chime for me?”

“What? What was I supposed to grow up calling it?” He asked. 

“Oh my god, I just, I can’t breathe.” She got out holding her side. “Oh my…” 

“You know, if you’re going to laugh, I am going in…” He said. 

“No, no, I’m sorry, I’m just, you’re so adorable. Go put your boardies on. I promise I will stop laughing.” She got out as her laughter started to slow down. “I really do promise, I mean it. Honest.” 

He harrumphed and walked back into his bedroom. She grinned at herself and got in the water and turned the bubbles on. She stilled chuckled a little and let the warm water and the sound of the distant ocean lull her into a sense of peace. She looked up as he walked back across the deck towards her, a frown on his face. She moved forward in the water and looked at up at him. 

“I want you to know, I think about that, too all the time.” She said. 

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her. “You do?”

“I do.” She smiled. 

She reached behind her and undid the tie on the back of her top and slipped it off and tossed it away over the side. Ben watched it as it landed with a dull wet thud on the decking. He looked back at her. “Are we going to get further than that tonight?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” She said and settled back in the water and wagged a finger at him beckoning him in. “Let’s get started and find out.” 

She watched as Ben got in the water and moved towards her slow and predatorily. She wrapped her arms around him, capturing his lips and running her fingers into his hair. She felt him tighten his arms around her and pull her in close to him. One hand moved up her back, caressing the soft skin. His other hand moved and the pad of his thumb grazed the rapidly swelling peak of her breast. 

She moaned, breaking the kiss and looking at him. “They are sensitive…”

“Oh thank god that they are.” He said and pulled her chest out of the water some, latching his lips around one of her nipples, sucking at it. She let her head fall back, her fingers threading tighter into his curls. 

“Ben,” She started. She hissed as his teeth scraped at the peak. “I…”

“What?” He mumbled in to the flesh of her breast. He dropped his other hand down and pulled her leg up and around his waist and moved so he was sitting back, with her in his lap, firmly planted in to the seat of his pelvis. “What do you want to tell me…?”

She took his face in her hands and looked in his eyes, searching. She leaned in and kissed him deeply. “I just wanted to say, I…well, I just…”

“Say it, say those three words…”He said quietly. He leaned in and kissed her neck. “Say, I…Love…You…Ben…I…Can’t…Live…With…Out…You…” 

She laughed. Each of his words had been punctuated by a kiss. “Stop, that is a lot more than three words, Ben.” 

“I know but you get the general idea.” He said and kissed her again. “Come on say it.”

She shook her head and pushed curls out from his eyes and looked at him. “Promise me something, no matter what, that you will never leave me. You will always trust me and you will never let me go?” 

Ben grinned at her and ran his hands down her back. “Until the very end of time Polly. I swear by the moon.”

“Don’t swear by that… that is ever changing.” She grinned at him. 

“Then what would you have me swear by? Ask and I will do it,” He said. 

“The twins.” She said quietly. “If my heart gets broken, well, then it does and I move on and deal with it. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last, but theirs, this isn’t just you and I any more Ben, this is you and I, Ari and Alex. This is the four of us and if you can’t swear on them that you are true and that you want us to work out and that this is what you really want, a love, and a family then, I’m going to get out of this hot tub right now and put my top on and go to bed.”

Ben pulled her in to a kiss and then looked deep in her eyes. “I swear, on each of them Polly, that I love you, and I love your mother, and I love each of them. I want to have a life with you, I want to raise them and some day when I marry you and I will, I will change their last name to Cumberbatch and any other children we have to keep with the Greek naming theme we seem to have going on. Because I love you, with every single ounce of me. I love you.” 

Polly said nothing, studying his face for a second before finally giving a short nod. “I love you, too.”

Ben broke out in a grin and pulled her in close to him. “Now was that so hard?”

She looked at him and shook her head. “You have no idea how hard it was.” 

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Can you tell how hard I am?” 

Polly began to laugh and wiggled herself in his lap and smiled. “I think I can, perhaps maybe we can get a handle on all of that.” 

“Oh I am…” 

Before Ben could go any further, a shrill piercing wail crackled over the monitor followed by the most pathetic ‘mama’ ever heard. Ari was awake, and crying. 

“Son of a bitch…” Ben moaned. 

Polly laughed and kissed him. “Welcome to fatherhood. Shouldn’t have started out nude, you’d have been a lot farther then you are now.” She said as she moved to untangle herself from Ben and head to go and get her crying child. “Get yourself together, it’ll only be a matter of moments and your boy will be up. I could use the hand and you have the bigger bed.” She wrapped herself in the towel she had brought out with her and looked over her shoulder. “Some night we’ll sleep together where there aren’t two year olds between us.”

Ben stood up and got ready to follow her, sighing. “I look forward to the day.”


	17. Chapter 17

Things were different now, more settled, more at ease and Ben was pleased for it. He had her, he had the twins and he even had Helena. He counted each of his lucky stars at night that he did, because nothing was going to get in the way: he was going to marry her someday he was sure of it. 

But first, he had to finish this damn movie and get the hell away from Rebecca who was, for all intents and purposes trying to drive him mad. He was completely certain that she was. Ever since he and Polly had made it official that they were an item on set, it was like she had redoubled her efforts in trying to get her claws in to him and today they had a love scene. 

Just his luck. He lay on the elegant bed and let the costume and make up people fuss over him and waited for Rebecca to get ready. Polly stood on the edge of the madness of set and smiled at him. Wearing a low cut blouse and would on occasion bend over with her ample cleavage pointed towards him. He would glare at her and try and think of things that would keep his erection at bay. 

Damn minx. He smiled to himself as he heard the distinct ringtone of their phone and watched her turn and walk away. He was sure it was Karon. The main three cast members were all heading to Athens the next day to do a little press, and so she was still trying to brief her on what he was supposed to be doing. The number one thing was to not let him get near any alcohol. 

And he didn’t have any real plans. His career had been hurt by the snafu, he knew it, he didn’t need any more negative publicity. He needed the kind of publicity that he had lucked out and found himself. He needed to become the family man that he had always longed to be, and he was finally getting to do it, with the woman and the kids that he adored. 

“Stop touching my hair, my god, I swear if you pull my hair one more time I will have you fired!” A shrill voice said as it drew nearer to where he lay. 

Delightful. Here came Rebecca. 

She flounced herself on the bed and looked at him. “Oh Ben, you look, so…um…grotesque.” 

He raised an eyebrow turning his head completely. “I’m Hephaestus. I’m supposed to have been burned in the fires of Mount Olympus.” 

“But they couldn’t have put that on later in CGI?” She asked looking at the burns that makeup people had applied to his bicep and arms and his face. “Computers can do wonders nowadays. I mean really? I am sure they are going to have to make my breasts look a lot bigger than they are.” She arched her back a little and ran her hands over them. 

Ben wanted to throw up a little in his mouth. “I am sure they will only make the needed adjustments.”

He watched her shoulders fall at that, the director came over then and the slow, arduous process of a love scene began. You can only look so sexy when there are 35 people looking at you and you are trying to ‘make love’ to a women you can barely stand. But somehow, after only 9 takes, the director finally called cut, looked at the last take and smiling gave them a thumbs up for a job well done and called it quits for the day. 

Ben popped up out of the bed, Rebecca hot on his heels. “What are you doing tonight? Jai is insisting that we go to a bar I think. I don’t know…do you want to go?” 

“No, not really. We leave for Athens mid-morning, so Polly and I are going to spend the night with the twins.” He said. Speaking of Polly where had she gotten off to?

“Aren’t you tired of playing daddy to someone else’s kids yet?” She asked. 

Ben stopped and turned around. He looked at her like she had completely lost her mind. Granted, he had always known she wasn’t totally wound tight but that had done it. That right there that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. He moved in very close to her and lowered his voice. “Those children, will someday be mine in more than just the fact that I will be their step father. I will adopt them and they will be mine in name, and do you know what Rebecca, I plan on making love to Polly and making plenty of more babies with her because this whole time today that I was supposed to be pretending to be making love to you, I was fantasizing about her. So tonight, when we get done putting our two beautiful twins to bed, I am going to take Polly to bed and do all the things I spent the whole day thinking about doing to her. So tomorrow when you see her, that smile on her face, you’ll know exactly what it is from.” 

He quickly turned on his heel and walked off, trying desperately to push the still swirling anger that he felt down. He walked off towards makeup and just before he got there, he took a detour to look in his trailer to see if Polly was there. He needed her. He needed the comfort of her arms. He opened the door with a swish and plop as it closed and he went in and looked around. 

Polly was curled up in the bed, a book open in her lap, her head resting in her hand at the window. She was asleep, her long lashes lying on her cheeks. He stopped and watched her a second and then went over and kissed her softly on the lips. She moaned and her eyes fluttered opened, looking up at him. 

“You’re done for the day?” She asked, yawning behind her hand as she shifted a bit. 

“I am.” He said and grabbed her hand and pulled her up and encircled her waist with his arms and held her close to him, burying his face into her hair. 

She held on to him tightly back. “Hey…what’s wrong?”

“Rebecca, just…”He sighed long and deeply. “Rebecca got under my skin is all.”

“Oh.” She replied quietly. 

“Is that why you’ve been gone all day?” He asked. “Because of her?”

Polly looked up at him and nodded. “I couldn’t stand to watch you pretend to make love to her, especially since you’ve not made love to me really…”She said with a smirk. “You know, something about that just doesn’t seem right.”

“Hey, it’s not like I haven’t tried, I swear the twins know…” He chuckled and kissed her. 

“I know, but it’s getting frustrating.” She laughed. “You may have to cut out the foreplay.”

“Well. Your wish is my command.” He leaned in and kissed her again and pulled her close to him. He just held on to her and rubbed her back. “I just love you and the twins so much, you know that right and you know that someday I am going to marry you and I am going to adopt the twins. I was serious about that, that wasn’t just the fact your breasts were exposed. I love you three more then I have ever loved any other people that have ever come in to my life. I love your mother, I want you to carry more of my babies, I just want this to be forever Polly. You are forever. I have never felt like that about anyone else, ever.” 

Polly looked at him, tears full in her eyes. She wiped them with the bottom of her palm. “You are our forever too Ben. I love you so much, I never thought I was ever going to find anyone else. Ever, I never really thought that Nico was my forever anyway. But then you walked in to Karon’s office and my heart stopped and then she sent me…I just… And then you walked in to my living room with my baby on your hip and it was like heaven…” She sucked in half a breath, half a sob. “God, listen to me, I sound like such a ninny…”

“You sound like a woman who is very in love with a very lucky and incredibly unworthy man.” He laughed and ran his fingers over her cheeks and wiped away the tears. “I love you, and I promise I am never, ever going to hurt you. Ever.”

“I know Ben, my god, I know.” She smiled and leaned up and kissed him. She pulled away and looked at him. “Go and get this all…off and get changed, let’s go spend time with our babies. We have to be to the airport by 9.”

“I know.” He smiled. “I just had to come see you. Half hour.”

“I’ll be here.” She smiled at Ben as he kissed her lips quickly as he walked out the door.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Polly and Ben have FINALLY sealed the deal....*eyebrow wiggle*

Polly watched as Ben walked back into the house and sat on the couch. She was almost sure she saw him run a hand under his eye, as if to wipe away a tear, but she couldn’t be sure. Her heart leapt. He had walked her mother and the twins down to the middle cottage for the night. Her mother had been pushy and told them that she would take them down to sleep with her so they could just get up to leave in the morning, and not worry about Ari and Alex. 

She put the towel down on the island and walked over and curled up on the couch next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “They good?”

“They are.” He said quietly, wrapping his arm around her and tucking her in to him. She settled in to him and molded herself to his body. “What are we going to do without them tonight waking us up?”

“Oh, I can think of at least one thing.” Polly said quietly and kissed behind his ear. “Something I have wanted to do since you came into your trailer, all muscles and no shirt and a little sweaty. I can definitely think of something I want to do without the interruption of the twins.”

Ben turned his head and looked at her, his pupils blown huge. He licked at his lips. “Polly don’t toy with me, I am a delicate man, and I can’t handle that twice in the space of a week.”

“I’m most certainly not toying with you.” She said. She didn’t get out another word before he was shifting them on the couch, pushing her back, and pressing her down in to the soft material. He kissed her deeply and kneed her legs apart, settling himself between them. She smiled and let him have complete control over her. Polly ran her fingers in to his hair and sighed happily. “Did you really mean what you said, not that it’s going to change the direction of where this is going…”

He kissed her neck as his hand slid up her thigh. “Which thing are you wondering about?” 

“The getting married…”

“As soon as you give me the clearest indication that you are ready for me to propose. I am will be down on my knee.” He breathed out into her ear as his hand pushed up under her skirt. “But no more of that tonight, tonight, it’s just this…” And with those words his fingers found the spot she had been aching for him to touch since she had met him, so many months before. 

Polly let out a gasp and arched her back under him as his fingers swirled around her swelling sex. She knew she was going to be teased and tortured for vexing him for as long as she had. It really wasn’t that she had planned to hold out as long as she did, it had just simply happened, and now, it was going to be magical. His fingers were already casting a spell on her, the two that had been swirling were soon replaced by the pad of his thumb, and she gasped as he hooked his fingers in to her, finding her sweetest spot. He pushed them in and pulled them out slowly. 

Polly tugged gently at his hair and pulled him into a deeply passionate kiss. She felt his free arm snake behind her shoulders and pulled her tight to him, instinctively she hiked her legs up over his hips, and with that simple motion, she felt him shift one more time. 

He was incredibly strong, and he used the hand behind her back as leverage as he moved and managed to get them up off the couch, removing his hands from her. She let out a sorrowful moan into their kiss, he pulled away as his hands both slid down to hold her thighs as he carried her in to his bedroom. “I…we can’t out there…”

“I know.” She said, “It just feels so good.”

“Oh god, you have no idea.” He growled and nipped at her lips. “I want you, so badly.”

“I’m all yours,” She said. 

“Those are the sweetest words I have ever heard.” He said and lay her back on the bed and stood over her, still between her knees. She looked up at him, chewing on her lip. “I’m going to undress you, and make you scream my name, do you understand that Hippolyta? And then when I am done, I am going to make love to you so slowly you are going to not even remember your name.”

She moaned and arched her back, canting her hips towards him. “My god, Benedict, don’t threaten me with a good time.”

He moaned and ran his hand back up her thigh. “I love when you say my full name. Ben is sexy on your lips but there is something so erotic about Benedict.” He ghosted his hands all up her body and began to unbutton the buttons on her blouse. She wanted him just to rip it off her, all of it. She wanted him buried deep in her. She wanted every single inch of him, every single part of him. “You say it like it is some kind of prayer, a wish.”

“I wish you would hurry up.” Polly said and wiggled. She arched her back. “Please Ben, please.”

“In due time. This may be the only time until our honey moon I can take my time with you, I plan on enjoying it.” He smiled and pushed the opened blouse to the side, exposing the lace of her bra. She thrust her breasts forward. His finger went over the covered nipple, eliciting a moan from her. “My god Polly you’re going to have an orgasm before I even get to the fun stuff.”

“Hey it’s been a very long time since anyone has touched me.” She laughed. “I’m a little over excited.”

“Well, maybe there is something I can do to relax you.” He replied and reached down and tugged at her skirt, she wasn’t sure where or when it had come undone, but it had and it slid over her hips and revealed her knickers, or what was left of her knickers, honestly. He smiled and hooked his thumbs in to the sides of them and tugged at them also and pulled them down tossed them in to some far flung corner of the room. His fingers skimmed up the inside of her leg, and she reacted. 

“Ben…please, please.” She practically whimpered.

He got to his knees and slowly kissed up the inside of her leg, to the juncture where her thigh and pelvis met and lay a slow kiss there. She bucked her hips up and he kissed up and across her pelvic bone and down to the same place on the other side, avoiding the place that she wanted him. She knew this was all a part of his sweet torture. She knew she deserved every moment of it. He finally moved across and placed a slow sweet kiss on her mound and she was done, that was all she needed. She had dreamed of this moment for months, and it was finally here, he was finally hers. Her hand wound down in to his hair. “Please…”She got out weakly. 

“Tell me you love me…”He said quietly looking up her body, meeting her eyes. 

“I love you so much.” She said breathlessly. 

“Tell me I am the only one here, from now on, this is it…” He asked. 

“No one else.” She said, winding her fingers in to his hair, hearing him hiss. 

“Good.” He replied, saying nothing more and burying his mouth deeply in to her. 

Polly threw her head back, and her hips writhed. She was sure he was holding his breath, the intensity and speed at which his tongue flicked at her core was enough to drive anyone wild. His hands had found their way on to her pelvis over her hips and, pressing her down as he worked at her relentlessly. She couldn’t do much more then make sounds, she wasn’t even sure she was doing that at times, she wound one of her hands deeply in to the sheets. She let out a cry. “Ben, stop...stop right there…”

He moaned and pulled away from her and looked up at her, licking his lips and cooing at the taste of her. “Why?”

“Because, I want to hold out, I want, to make it really good when I finally cum.” She said, tugging his hair a little. “And you’re still dressed, I don’t think that’s very fair do you?” 

He chuckled a little and placed one more kiss on her folds and shook his head. “No, I guess not.” He released her and stood up and looked down at her, pulling his shirt off over his head. She watched him, openly and with great joy. “Like what you see?”

“I love what I see.” She said and sat up a little and ran her hand over the plane of his stomach and down to the button on his trousers. She let her deft fingers work at it and soon had them open, pulling the zip down and pushing her fingers inside his pants. The sound of his sudden intake of breath and gasp was all that she needed to hear to embolden her. She stroked him slowly within the confines that encased him. She looked up at him, licking her lips. She tugged at him and pulled him free and gave him one long slow stroke. “I think I remember what to do with one of these.”

Ben laughed a little and ran his hands in to her hair. “I can tell you that you are doing a wonderfully fine…job with it.” 

“Oh good,” She said and took the top of him into his mouth. She felt his fingers tighten in her hair. He made a strangled sound as she slowly worked down him. The memory of what to do slowly began to come back to her. She pulled off him with a giggle and looked back up him. 

“What’s so funny?” He asked, breathless and with a sudden concern in his voice. 

“It’s been, at least, and I mean in the very, very least 3 years since I have done this, it just tickled me that it’s like riding a bike, you never really forget do you?” She grinned looking up at him. 

Ben began to laugh a little with her and shook his head no. “I guess you really don’t, because you are doing a fantastic job.”

“Oh well, I am so glad you like it.” She grinned and took the very tip of him back in to her velvety mouth and began to work slowly up and down his shaft. She let her tongue move over every ridge and vein that made him uniquely him. She reveled in the taste and feel of him on her lips, she was falling in love with this final part of him, this part that they had kept hidden from each other for so long. Polly came off of him with a pop and looked up at him, by this point his breathing was labored and strangled. “We are going to do this together, do you hear me Ben, and every moment after tonight, we are going to be together.”

Ben nodded and pushed her back and kissing her with a maddening passion. He pinned her to the bed, lavishing kisses all over her face. His hands shifted her arms above her head and pinned her wrists there. He pushed apart her knees and looked down at her. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” She replied. 

“We don’t have anything…”He said quietly. 

“I’m not worried.” She said. “Not if what you said is true.”

She watched his face go through a hundred different emotions and he kissed her. “I’ll be beside you for the rest of our lives Polly. The very rest of them…”

He let go of her wrists and let one hand slide down her leg and pulled it up and slid deeply into her. He moaned, it was nothing she had ever felt before. No other man had filled her so perfectly, no other man had completed her the way that he did. She understood now what her mama had talked about, how when you find the one, that one man who completes you and is your one true love, you just know deep down in your soul. And Polly knew now, Ben was that for her. He was everything, he was truly the love of her life and the very completion of her soul. He was her soul mate. She was sure of it, and then he began to move. 

It was a slow motion ballet towards their oblivion, each thrust, and each stroke of his powerful body woke up a sleeping part of her body. A part of her that had long been dormant, some parts of her had never been awake, she realized that now, as he kept up his movements. She gasped, meeting each of his thrusts, meeting him turn for turn. 

She wanted it to keep going, forever. Wanting this feeling of complete and utter pleasure to go on for the rest of their lives, she wanted him to never stop. She wanted his to kiss her under the moon and stars, she wanted him to take her to a mountain, to the ocean, and she wanted him to never leave her. She wanted him deeply within her for as long as they could manage. 

And all at once it was over, the fire in her belly began to burn blue, and she exploded. Her pleasure washing over her in waves pounding a rocky shore, pulling him in deeply. She arched her back and screamed his name over and over, begging him to not stop. He complied and continued; the slow steady that had come before was lost now, he was searching, desperate. 

Polly heard Ben echo his pleasure with her name being drawn out on her lips. She ran her hands down his back, cupping his backside and keeping him buried deeply in her. She felt the waves of his heat leaving him, seeping into her walls. 

It wasn’t until he was almost crushing her that she realized she had been holding her breath. She inhaled his scent and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in close to him. “I love you, so much. So much Ben.”

“I love you Polly,” He said and rolled to the side of her pulling her in to him and kissing the top of her head as he did. “I never thought I would fall in love as hard as I have with someone, but then I met you.”

She felt the tears well in her eyes and she wiped them away. “Oh my god, I am such a girl, crying.”

“No, it was a beautiful moment.” He smiled. 

“Oh my god, you sap.” She laughed, wiping more away. “I never expected to find anyone, after Nico, I was sure I was done, and then you walked in Karon’s office, all swagger and curls. And you did that thing you do where you brush your curls from your forehead. My god, do you know how sexy that is?” She buried her face in his peck, making a strangled sound. “Incredibly.”

He stroked her hair. “I’ll endeavor to do it more then.”

“Oh, please do.” She looked up at him resting her chin on his chest. 

“You make me incredibly happy Polly, you and the twins and even your mom.” He said. “You are my family now.”

She rested her head back down on his shoulder and yawned. “You have no idea how long I dreamed about hearing that.”


	19. Chapter 19

Ben lay on the bed, arm over his eyes, trying hard not to fall asleep. He could hear Polly still getting ready in the room as he lay there, and he finally spoke to her. “Do we have to go? Nine hours of press and being asked over and over again about tug boat gate, which is a stupid name by the way, is exhausting.” 

He felt the bed shift beside him as Polly came to lay next to him. Her head settled on his chest and pushed his arm away from his eyes. “If we don’t go, Jai will come up here, barge in and drag us out. Naked if need be. We have to go.” She pecked him on the lips. “Sorry buddy these are the breaks.”

“That still doesn’t mean I want to go.” Ben said with extra exaggeration in his voice. He rolled his eyes and looked at her. “I could take him. Don’t you think?”

“No you couldn’t and we are going. The club they have chosen to go to is one of the nicest in Athens, extremely exclusive and hard to get into. We are without the twins, Helena and any sort of adult obligation that ties us down at home. God knows when that sort of thing will happen again, you were right, probably never. Let us taken this golden opportunity to enjoy every damned second of it Benedict, because the next time we are this unencumbered by our brood, it may very well be our honeymoon.” Polly smiled at him and sat up. 

Ben finally got a chance to get a good look at her. Polly wore a form fitting, but flattering red dress. The top of it showed off, what were in Ben’s opinion her best assets. She had done her dark hair up in thick, luscious curls. Frankly he would have been quite content to stay right where he was in bed, undress her slowly and ravish every inch of her, and he knew exactly which inches he would take care of first. 

Yes, that was a fantastic plan, and one that he planned on trying to get her to agree to. He licked his lips as he let his eyes trail down her legs, to her pumps. Black with rhinestones around the ankle straps. Oh, yes, he would have her stripped, ravished and still wearing those. He nodded to himself a little, licking his lips. 

“You’re staring.” She said. 

“You’re stunning.” He replied. “I can’t help but stare at you.”

“You’re biased.” Polly laughed and turned to walk into the bathroom. 

“Maybe a little.” He called after her and finally sat completely up from his half prone position on the bed. “But tonight, when we get home from this clubbing date, those heels you’re wearing…Yeah…”

Polly stopped in the door way of the bathroom and looked at him leaning on the jamb and kicked one of them up. “What about these little old things?”

“They are staying on.” He said. Ben stood and cleared the space between them in two quick strides and kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her tightly. His hand drifted down her back and cupped her luscious backside pulling her closer to him. He finally broke the kiss and looked down at her. “You make all of this stress worth it, you know that right? Your being here makes it worth it. Without you I’m not sure what I would be doing or how I would be doing it.”

Polly smiled, curling herself into him, burying her face in his neck. “You keep saying things like that…” 

“What will you do?” He asked. 

“I may just have to marry you.” She whispered quietly. 

Ben grinned from ear to ear. “Be still my beating heart.” He pulled her closer cupping her rear a little more, pressing her into him, trying to let her feel his need. “Are you positive we have to go?”

She laughed and pushed away from him. “Yes, we have to go, but be content in knowing that I’m not wearing knickers under this dress, so…”

“Damn.” He said. “You are a bloody tease. You are going to drive me wild all night long and I will get no relief.”

“Well, we will have to see about that.” She replied winking at him. “Now let’s get ready.”

They spent the next few minutes gathering up the last of the things they needed. She grabbed her clutch and his hand as they headed out the door. They made their way to the elevator, getting in and hitting the buttons, Polly ran her hand down the front of his shirt. “You look good tonight, by the way. The buttons on this shirt are screaming.”

“You like all this extra bulk?” He asked her. 

“You know it.” Polly said grinning up at him and stretching up on her tiptoes to kiss him. 

Just as he did the door slid open to reveal Jai and Rebecca standing there. “About time you two got down here.” Jai said, grinning from ear to ear. “I was just getting ready to come up to that room and get you.” 

“You’d have only made it as far as the door buster.” Polly said, laughing a little. “He and I were busy.”

“I don’t care. I still was coming in!” He laughed. 

“Ugh, will you two stop?” Rebecca said, the sound of disgust in her voice obvious. “Can we get going?”

“Lead the way princess.” Jai said and smiled swooping in and wrapping his arm around her. 

Ben tried hard to hold in a laugh at the indignant sound that Rebecca made towards Jai, she however made no effort to remove his arm. Ben smiled a little, wrapping his arm around Polly’s waist and guiding her out after the couple in front of them, to the waiting limo. 

Ben was glad that the ride to the club was quiet, he felt his phone go off and he retrieved it from the pocket of his trousers, which was no easy task in the state he was in. He glanced at Polly, thinking to himself about what a minx she was doing this to him. She knew exactly what she was doing. He shook his head, turning his attention back to his phone.

Tracy had sent him a picture of the twins, fast asleep on the soft plush rug in the cottage. He grinned, and the swell of love that he felt for them nearly made him choke up. He touched Polly’s leg and showed her the picture. She giggled, laying her head on his shoulder. She took his phone and sent herself the picture. 

She spoke quietly in to his ear. “I think your sister is very excited to be an auntie. I think I get as many pictures of the twins from her as I do from my mum.”

“I think so too. I can’t imagine what will happen when we unleash them on my mother. It’ll be nothing but pictures. You think I’m a baby whisper, you’ve never seen my dad. He can get any baby to sleep, any time, no matter the circumstance.” Ben grinned. “I can’t wait to see him with them, and maybe one day one of our own.”

Polly rested her head on his shoulder, sighing happily. “I can hardly wait.”

Ben happened to look up just then and see Rebecca staring at him. He half smiled at her but he got no response from her whatsoever. She simply looked away. He sighed, he was unsettled by the whole thing. He had seen that look on her face before and it was never a good thing, it usually meant she was plotting something, but what she could be plotting he had no idea. But the feeling that sunk deep in the pit of his stomach made him uneasy. 

He suddenly felt like a storm was coming and he hoped it was one he could weather.


	20. Chapter 20

Polly ran her hand over Ben’s arm and smiled up at him. He was dancing like a madman with Jai to some crazy electronica beat. She laughed as he pulled her close to him, gathering her up a little. He kissed her neck, his hand landing on her arse. She pushed at him as he captured her lips. 

He smiled down at her. She had never seen him like this in public- loose, relaxed, and free. He was like this at home, with her and the twins. Home was safe, being out like this wasn’t. He was usually quite different when he was out, always on guard. She couldn’t help but smile up at him, her hand running over his chest. She wanted him, she wanted them to be done with the evening. She wanted nothing more than to make their excuses and to head back to the hotel room, letting him make good on his promises. 

“Let’s go get a drink.” He said close to her ear. His hand still firmly planted on her rear. 

Polly simply nodded and let him guide her, content with the feeling of his hand there. She smiled, she hadn’t ever been like this with any other man she had ever dated. Even with Nico, she had never let him be this hands on. But with Ben, it worked. She knew, deep down in her heart that she was simply his. She made her way over to their table in the VIP area and Ben sat down, he pulling her on to his lap, burying his face in her neck, kissing her. 

She looked across the table to where Rebecca sat, a look on her face that made her skin crawl. Ben had texted her in the limo on the way over that something seemed off about her. She was inclined to agree, but she wasn’t sure what it was, but was the evening began to ware on she saw it too. She smiled at her, trying to not let it play on her face. “Why don’t you go out and dance with Jai? Ben and I will stay here and hold down the fort, you don’t have to sit here all night long, Rebecca, go ahead.” Polly said, hoping she wouldn’t notice Ben’s hand slowly making its way up her thigh and under the skirt of her dress. 

Rebecca looked them over and gave a little frown. She stood up and pulled her dress down. “I’d like another Crown and coke when the dingy waitress gets back please.”

“I think I can manage to remember that.” Ben replied. “Have a good time.”

Polly watched her walk away, then turned her face to look at Ben. “I’m not sure she is altogether thrilled with the two of us.”

“Oh, I know she’s not thrilled with the two of us.” He said. “I know that for a fact. But she is going to have to get over it. You are who I have chosen, it has never been her, ever.”

“And just why not?” Polly asked. “You have never told me, because she is pretty beautiful.”

“She is also pretty crazy. She has always came on way too strong.” He said.

“And you definitely like a girl you have to chase.” Polly giggled. 

“Something like that. She has this idea that because her parents are famous, as mine are, we are some kind of acting royalty and that if we got together, the two of us and our suspected superstar parents would be able to bolster our celebrity. I am nothing more to her then a stepping stone to a more lucrative and exciting career. That is it. She doesn’t want me for any other reason. I honestly don’t think she even has any sort of genuine feeling for me, she has a feeling for what our supposed relationship could do for her press.“ Ben said with a long sigh. 

“And you don’t think I am using you for publicity?” Polly raised an eyebrow. 

“I think you are using me for my body.” He grinned up at her. 

“Ding ding ding, we have a winner.” She laughed and leaned in kissing him once more. Once she was done she sat back up and looked at him and smiled. “You are so very, very smart.”

“Well, I certainly endeavor to be so. I do wish to show you that I am the perfect mate for you.” He stopped his hand dangerously high on her thigh. She moaned and let her head fall back a little. 

Before she could reply to him, the waitress appeared, asking if they wanted anything more, to drink. Ben tried to order in his halting stammered Greek. The waitress finally took pity on him and asked him in English. Ben smiled at her, giving her the order and when she left, he turned his attention back to Polly. She smiled at him. “You are so very cute when you try and speak Greek you know that right?”

“I have a little bit of an idea.” He smiled at her. 

“I’m going to have to send you to Greek school right along with the twins, or you will never keep up with the rest of my family. They will get going and you’ll just be lost.” She laughed and shook her head pushing away from him, standing up. 

He frowned, his hand resting on her thigh. “Where are you going?”

“The loo, I’ll be back, I promise.” She smiled at him. 

“You going to hurry?” He said grabbing at her hand pulling her back down into a kiss. 

“I will think about it.” She smiled at him. “Let me go.”

He huffed a little, throwing his head back on the couch and sighed. “Fine!”

She laughed and slowly made her way through the club. The music pounded in her ears and chest. She certainly didn’t miss this part of her youth. She shook her head, catching sight of Jai. He was alone on the dance floor, Rebecca nowhere to be seen. Polly felt something icy grip her heart. Jai saw her and smiled brightly at her and waved, making a motion like taking a drink. Polly nodded and pointed towards the table. Jai threw a thumbs up and kept on dancing. 

Polly quickly went and did what she had to do in the loo, she couldn’t shake this feeling of dread that was washing over her in waves. She was sure it was nothing, but she was Greek, there was always some sort of Delphine sense to the world around her. She turned the back to the VIP area and stopped in her tracks. 

Rebecca was on Ben’s lap, her hands in his hair, her lips on his, kissing him deeply. Polly felt like she had been shot by an arrow in her heart. Her perfectly crafted world crashed around her once more. Polly moved through the crowd, running in to the solid shape of Jai on the way. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“Back to the hotel, back to Kythira, back to London.” She said. 

Jai looked at her puzzled. “What, why?”

“I just… I’ll see you someday again… maybe. Good Bye Jai.” She said, making her way outside. She thanked her lucky stars that there were taxis lined up, waiting. She got in the first one, the tears beginning to fall. Her words in Greek shaky, but giving the name of the hotel. She settled back into the seat, letting the tears fall.


	21. Chapter 21

Ben burst through the front door of the house. “Polly! Polly where are you?” He called out. He went to the kitchen, only to find it empty. He went back in to the lounge, pulling the phone out of his pocket once more, and dialing. He waited for her voice mail to pick up again, leaving another message. “Polly, please, please call me back, I am at the house. I know you have to still be here, somewhere, I just, I need to explain. I am so sorry, I don’t know what you saw, or think you saw I just…..please.” 

He hung up and turned the corner down the hall to see if the twin’s things were still there. Helena came out of their room, gasping a little at the sight of him. “What happened?”

Ben let his shoulders slump. “Jai.”

Helena came over and fussed at the ripped front of his shirt and touched the bruise on his cheek. “Come on, kitchen now, you need ice.” She said, turning him around and pushing him back into the kitchen. “She’s not here yet, so you have time.”

“What? How is she not here? How did I beat her?” He asked. 

“Something about plane diversion, I don’t know… come sit down.” She said. “I’ll take care of this, then you rest and when she gets home you will talk to her.”

Ben nodded, going and slumping in the chair. He watched the little woman move around the kitchen gathering the things necessary to tend him. He sighed. “You believe me right? That she kissed me and that I got away from her as quickly as I could.”

“I do.” Helena replied simply, bringing over the towel with the ice in it and placing it on his cheek. 

Ben hissed, looking up at her with sad blue eyes. “Do you think Polly will?”

“I think Polly does, deep down in her heart, but she saw someone else playing with her boyfriend and she, after many drinks, she got mad. I would have gotten mad too, Polly is a lot like her father. One time, he see another man touch my hair in the market, when we were just beginning to date. He went over and hit that man and didn’t talk to me for three days.” Helena laughed. “But he came around and realized I did nothing back to that man and I had not started it. I was innocent. He finally listened to reason, once he cooled down.”

Ben snorted. “Waiting for women to cool down seems to be my lot in life right now.” He took over holding the ice on his cheek. “I want to marry her Helena, I love her, and the twins. I want to make a wonderful life for all of you.”

She smiled at him and touched his hair and ran her fingers over his good cheek. “And you will Benedict. You will. I know from the second you walk in the door and you hold Ari that you were the one. Not Nico. Nico was good boy, but he wasn’t the one. You, you were the one. A mother knows these things. Your mother will know when she sees Polly with you, you two are meant to be together.”

Ben laughed a little. “Yeah, you’ve not met my mum.” 

“I am sure she is a lovely woman, she raised you and your sister.” She smiled. 

Ben sighed, nodding. “That she did. You really think Polly will forgive me?”

“I know she will.” Helena said. 

“Even with the other thing?” Ben asked. 

“Even with that.” Helena smiled. 

Somewhere in the house, a door opened and shut. Ben looked at Helena, who smiled and left the kitchen. He heard muffled voices for a few minutes and then finally, distinctly Polly’s voice saying exasperatedly, “Mama!”

He looked up just as she was obviously pushed in to the kitchen. He sat up a little more, watching her as she went and got a cup out. She was still wearing the red dress he had last seen her in. His eyes followed her to the sink as she turned the taps, filling the glass of water. She leaned on the counter not looking at him, he didn’t know what to say to start this. 

“Polly…” He said quietly. 

She turned looking at him, her eyes red with tears. “What?”

“Please let me explain.” He said quietly, his heart breaking into a million pieces.

“Explain what? What?” She said. “Explain the fact that she was on your lap Benedict, her hands in your hair, kissing you and you were doing NOTHING about it, absolutely nothing!”

“Clearly you must have seen the very first part of the kiss Polly, not the part where I dumped her on the floor and yelled at her, telling her to never touch me again. By the time it was all over you were gone, I went looking for you, I found Jai instead. Who got in a good shot or two.“ Ben said. “Not sure makeup is going to be able to cover this up.”

Polly looked at him. “I am supposed to believe you? This is all supposed to make me feel better? I am supposed to care about this? Why? Tell me why!”

“Because, have I ever done anything other wise to hurt you Polly? Have I shown you anything that would make you think otherwise of me? Damn it! You need to just listen to me and not let your… Greek stubbornness get in the way!” Ben said. 

Polly looked at him, eyes narrowing, and before he knew it he was being bombarded by her in Greek. “My stubbornness, Oh I will show you stubbornness, you pompous, arrogant ass, you are so lucky that I am in love with you or I would be over there giving you another black eye to match the one that Jai gave you, and I swear the next time I see that evil woman I am going to kill her.” 

“I would expect you to do nothing less.” Ben said in his near flawless, fluent and perfect Greek. “And you couldn’t give me another black eye, you’d never hit me, you love me too much.”

Polly stopped, and looked at him. Her mouth working for a few seconds which gave Ben enough time to realize that she still had her glass in her had as it came hurtling towards his head, water flying across the kitchen. He ducked as the glass smashed on the wall behind him. She reverted back to English. “You speak Greek?”

“I do.” He said sheepishly. 

“So, needing a translator…” 

“A rouse. I felt bad about you getting fired because I was an ass, but what I have said is completely true, from the moment I walked in to Karon’s office and I saw you, I knew I loved you. So, when you were fired because of me, well, I had to fix it. But then I met Alex and Ari, and things changed. I realized is wasn’t just you I loved any more, it was I loved them, too. I loved all three of you.” He said, setting the towel down and walking over to her. “My god I even love your mother. I just wanted you near me, and hiring you as my assistant and translator was the perfect rouse.” 

“You lied!” Polly said. 

“I omitted a fact.” He replied. “Would you have come otherwise?”

Polly huffed. “No.” 

“Then would we be where we are today? Now? Polly, what is it that you don’t get about how much I love you? I would give up everything, and I mean everything if you asked, just to be your husband and their father. You have turned my world on, it was dark and cold until you came into it. And now, you have brought sunshine and light. You are my dream. You are my light. So if you really think that I would ever, ever debase what we have with the very likes of Rebecca, then you are very much mistaken. You are, and always will be the only woman I ever will need.” He said, moving to step in close to her. “You are my dream, my heart, my soul and my love.” Polly looked away, her hand going up to wipe her eyes. Ben reached down, taking her chin in his fingers and turning her face to look at him. He let his hands cup her face looking down in to her face. “Please say that this, you and I, aren’t over.”

“I wanted to die, right there. I felt like I was being stabbed, like my heart was being ripped from my chest. Do you understand that?” She whispered to him. “I can’t imagine my life without you, I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it.” 

Ben half smiled at her using one of his hands to push her bangs from her eyes. “You never, ever will have a life without me in it.” He leaned in and kissed her, hesitantly at first. He felt her hands slide around his waist, and she kissed him back. He took that as a good sign to deepen the kiss. He pulled her in close to him, wanting nothing more than to hold her tightly. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. “I’m sorry for everything. For all of it. For getting you fired, for dragging you to Greece, for Rebecca, for not telling you I speak Greek.” 

“The only one I am upset about is the Greek thing, but I think I get why you did it.” She said quietly. “I am such a mess when it comes to you, look I can’t even stay mad.” 

“I am a little glad about that.” He chuckled a little. “I love you Polly, so much, you know that right?”

She nodded and sighed. “I do. More than I have known that anyone else has ever loved me.” She said and looked up at him. “And I love you, so much.”

“Good.” He said. “I will take care of Rebecca when she gets back.”

“Oh no, I will take care of her, once and for all. You can just be one hundred percent sure of that.” Polly said. “I’m gonna rip her hair out of her head.”

Ben laughed and pulled her back in to his arms. “God, I love you.”

“You better, imagine what I’d do to you.” She said. 

“Oh I did, on the plane ride here.” He said. “I plan on staying on your good side.”

“Smart man.” Polly said. 

“Incredibly.” He smiled. “I mean you did just lob a glass at my head when you found out I do in fact speak Greek. Which, we should clean that up, before your mother has kittens, she’s hovering.” 

“Yes, well you’ll just be wise to remember I have a good arm.” She smiled and went to find the dust pan and broom. 

“Noted.” Ben replied. “Duly noted.”


	22. Chapter 22

Polly woke up the next morning pinned, between the man she loved, thought that could be at times debatable, and the twins she adored. She heard three soft snores around her and shook her head. Of course she would be the first of them all to be awake. She opened her eyes, feasting on the sights that lay before her. Ben had, like he always ended up being when they had the twins, the little spoon, followed by Ari and then finally Alex. Ben’s arm protectively laying over them holding them close to him. 

She loved that about him, that he was so in tune to them. Polly knew that deep down she should be so mad at him, but she couldn’t be. As she sobered up at the airport, she waited for the flight, and listened to every one of his messages that came in. She heard the genuine pain and hurt that had been in his voice, and then walking in to that kitchen and seeing him in the state that he was in was about all she could take. 

She knew it would only be a few of his honey sweet words, a kiss or two and she would be done. The Greek thing had thrown her, but she couldn’t even stay mad at him for that. If she hadn’t followed him she wouldn’t be where she was now, and for the first time in years, that was happy. 

She heard her phone begin to vibrate on the nightstand. She reached over and picked it up, seeing it was Karon. She slipped out of the bed, and quietly in to the hall. She hit the little green button, placing the phone next to her ear. “Hello Karon.”

“Why isn’t he in Athens?” She asked curtly. “I got a call this morning from Siobhan, that he was in fact nowhere to be seen. That your hotel room was filled with both of your suit cases, and that Jai came by and said that he would be packing you both up and bringing your things back to Kythira. What on earth happened?”

“Rebecca.” Polly said simply. “It was a huge mess, and while I should have sent him back, there was no way that he would be interview ready, so honestly it is best that he is here at home. So, call Siobhan, and make excuses about him, or the twins, or Tracy even getting sick and us having to rush back. The purple and black bruise on his face would not film so well on the telly spots today.” 

“What! Why does he have a bruise, what happened? Tell me the whole story, and if It has something to do with the psycho, I definitely need to hear every single word of it, this is not my first spin around the block with her.” Karon said. Polly could actually hear the wind come out of her sails as she heard mention of Rebecca.

“She’s been laying it on thick with Ben, and just before we left, she tried to make a move and Ben told her no, that he loved me, the twins and our life… And he does Karon. I know you probably think this is some flight of fancy for him, but he loves us. You should see him with the twins, He glows with the light of a hundred stars. It’s magic.” Polly smiled. 

“How romantic, but not helpful to what happened in Athens.” Karon said. 

Polly giggled, she forgot how to the point Karon could be. “Yeah, sorry. So, things had been going well and we went out to a club, very exclusive, very VIP for the three of them, and we were having a lovely time. Then I left to go to the loo, and I just happened to look over, and there she was, on his lap kissing him. Well, Jai may have seen it too, and the details of what happened after are a little fuzzy. All I know for sure is, sometime around the time I got in the cab to go right to the airport to come home to get the twins and my mother, Jai may or may not have gone over and punched Ben in the face and possibly drug Rebecca back to the hotel to read her the riot act for that I hear was several hours.”

“Oh my god, did anyone see this?” Karon said. 

Polly was sure she could hear the wheels begin to spin, this was exactly the last thing that Karon needed this year with Ben. Honestly, it was the last thing that Polly needed with Ben. She didn’t need to be the cause of two scandals involving him in the same 4 month period. God, she was making a mess of her entire life wasn’t she? She let out a lengthy sigh. “I’m not sure. My flight got diverted and delayed, Ben actually beat me home to Kythira. He was here when I walked in. So far, if you’ve not heard anything, then there may not be anyone saying anything about it. My god Karon, I didn’t expect Jai to hit him, but Jai is just that kind of guy, big strong and pugilistic at the defense of a female I guess.” 

Karon sighed deeply, Polly was sure she could hear her rubbing her forehead through the phone. “Alright, I’ll spin it this way: Due to feeling ill with the effects of the stomach flu, Ben went home to recover so that he can resume filming sometime next week. Do you think that will buy him enough time for that eye to heal up?”

Polly laughed a little. “Not even close, but by then the make-up department will be able to cover it better. I will handle things on this end. Don’t worry Karon, when I am done with her she will never, and I mean never, be a problem for any of us again.”

Karon let out a little chuckle. “Oh, I am sure you will. You did send back decapitated roses. I am sure you will handle her just fine.” 

“Thanks Karon, for not flying off the handle too much.” Polly started. 

“You’ve shown me that, well, I may have been wrong in firing you. But we will talk about that when you get back into town okay? Right now, you deal with him, Rebecca, and hopefully Jai will have his tail between his legs, and I will deal with the rest of it.” Karon said. 

Polly worked her jaw a second, finally able to get out. “Yes, of course. I will talk to you soon.”

“I am sure you will, our boy is bound to screw something else up. Good bye Polly.” Karon replied and with that hung up. 

Polly looked down at her phone, in complete shock. She walked slowly back in to the bedroom, to find Ben awake, and quite under a pile of twins who were touching his face. “Mama, wook, owwie!” Alex said, pointing to Ben’s cheek. “Kissies!”

Ben smiled up at her. “Yes, Kissies please.” 

Polly came out of her fog, nodding and climbed on the bed. She went over and kissed Ben’s cheek gently and then his mouth, slowly. Alex made a disgusted noise, while Ari simply giggled covering her face and squealing, “No, no Mama, no those kissies!” 

Polly smiled, pulling away from Ben and looking at her. “Do you need kissies?” She grabbed her up and began to kiss her all over her face, tickling her at the same time. She heard Ben do the same thing with Alex. The twins squealed in delight and threw their arms around them. Polly looked at Ben, smiling at him. 

He smiled at her and grinned. “I love you. Thank you for believing in me, in us, in this.”

“I think I did from the second I saw it. I just was in shock and hurt.” She said. “How about we feed this two babies and take them in to town to the market to get what we need for lunch and dinner, because, someone is going to be spending about the next week at home with us, because of a big black mark on those cheeks that could cut glass.”

“I think that sounds like a plan, and I think these two little mo̱rá need a nappy change first. You head to the kitchen, I will handle them.” He smiled. “Meet you there in 10 minutes?”

“Sounds like a plan.” She smiled. 

“Are you sure nothing is wrong?” He asked. 

She nodded her head. “Just something on my mind, but we will talk later, when they are napping, I promise. Okay?”

He nodded and reached out his arm for Ari. She gladly wrapped herself around him and he kissed her as she settled in to him. Ben got up and left the room carrying them. Polly watched them and let out the breath she was holding. What on earth was going on in her world?


	23. Chapter 23

Ben hadn’t been able to pin down what had been bothering Polly in the two days since they had been home. She said she was over the Rebecca thing with him, and he was sure she was, with him. With Rebecca, well that was going to be another story. She and Jai returned to Kytheria that evening. Jai was going to be bringing them their bags later and he hoped it was only going to be Jai. He didn’t need the twins to see any sort of ensuing fight that would happen between Polly and Rebecca. And Ben was sure there was going to be one. 

In fact, Ben would almost be disappointed if there wasn’t one. Jai had fought for Polly’s virtue after all, but who was going to fight for his? He was the one who had been assaulted, attacked even. Ben was sure that Rebecca had gotten the brunt of Jai’s wrath when they had returned to the hotel. This was not something they were easily going to let her live down. 

Ben walked on to the terrace, finding Polly bent over a pail with the twins playing in it. She had a faraway smile on her lips. She reached out and touched Ari’s head. The little girl looked up at her mother and smiled. Ben felt things he had never felt before about any one, ever. 

He went out, Alex looked up at him and held his arms up for him to be picked up. Ben took the little boy up in to his arms, kissing his head and rubbing his back. Polly looked up at him and smiled. “I love the look of you holding a child.”

“You do?” He replied. 

“I do.” She winked. “You look like you’ve been thinking too hard.”

“I’ve been thinking about you.” Ben said, sitting next to her on the lounger. He Put Alex back down who immediately went back to playing with his sister.

“Oh you have?” She said. “And just what have you been thinking about me?” 

“Lots of stuff.” He said and smiled. “Lots and lots.” 

“Oh, now I have to know.” She grinned at him. 

Ben looked at her. “Just about, the other night, mostly. I just wondered, if you had seen her actually jump in to my lap and assault me, if you would have defended my virtue like Jai defended yours.” 

Polly raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you doubt that I would have?”

“No, not really, I just, guess, I was thinking about it. Really, it’s stupid to be thinking about it, but, I am curious as to what you would have done.” Ben said. 

“Caused a much bigger scandal then Tug-Boat-Gate, that’s for damned sure.” She said half under her breath. 

Ben chuckled and threw his arm around her and pulled her in tight to him and looked at her. “You would have fought for my virginal honor?” 

Polly burst out laughing, pushing him away. “Virginal my foot, I’ve seen what you can do…” She reached up, touching his face. She brushed a little hair away from his eyes. “I may yet fight her now. I’ve not decided. This isn’t over between she and I.”

“Polly…” Ben started.

“You just don’t do that to some one’s man. You simply don’t.” She said. “I’m sorry, but it’s just true.”

Ben grinned. “Feeling a little possessive?”

Polly smiled. “Maybe a little.”

Still grinning, Ben asked. “Are you going to tell me what else is bothering you?”

Polly looked at him, and sighed. “Karon.”

He furrowed his brow, biting his lip. “Okay, not sure I follow on that one.”

Polly took a deep breath, resting her elbows on her knees, and settling her head in her hands. “She basically offered me my job back. In not so many words. With a, we will talk about it when you get back to London, because you have done such a good job keeping him in line, and I may have been hasty in firing you.” 

“That’s great! Congratulations!” Ben smiled at her, but Polly’s face was less than thrilled. “Isn’t it?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I like this, I like being with them all the time. I just am really conflicted about what I feel.” She said. “I don’t want you to think that I did all this just because you’re rich and famous. I don’t want you to think that I want you just because of your money. I don’t want that at all Ben, I want you because of you. I love you.”

“I know that.” He replied, pushing a little of her hair behind her ear. “If you want to take the job, then you take the job on your own terms. If I am the only of Karon’s clients you have and work with then, so be it. You’re going to be going to all of the events any way, might as well get paid to be there.” 

She laughed a little. “That’s true.” She turned her head, resting it in the palm of her hand. She looked at him. “You are really sure, positive that if I did want to work, that you wouldn’t mind? I mean I could have mum watch the kids.” He must have made some sort of face because Polly immediately began to backpedal. “Or not, I mean if you really want to, I just feel like this is so much for you to take on.”

Ben took her face in his hands, pulling her close to him, and making her look at him. “I am as serious about them as I am you. We will be married, when we are, I will adopt them so that any children we have will all have the same last name. I promise you.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I love you and I love them, every single one of them. Hell, I’d even adopt your mum if she’d let me.”

Polly laughed. “I am sure she would.”

“The point is, I am keeping you all, close, and forever. You’re stuck with me.” He said. 

“Damn, no way I can shake you?” She asked pulling a little face. 

“None what so ever.” He laughed, pulling her in to his lap. He kissed her quite soundly and rested his head on hers. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. I know, that you simply love me for me. Not my money or fame. Not for any of that stuff.”

She nodded, a long sigh escaping her lips. “It’s not going to help anything though, really, what we say.”

“No, maybe not. But, we will give interviews to the right people and we will make sure that the world knows, that out of my massive, major screw up, came the best thing in my entire life. A woman I am head over heels in love with. A son and a daughter who I can’t imagine, not taking care of and the promise of a happy life. The four of us.” Ben said. “It will always be the four of us. And when we get back to London, we will start getting our lives back together and getting on with our future. I am tired of hiding out with my tail tucked. I want to just own up that I made a horrible mistake, ask forgiveness and move on.”

Polly smiled at him, her fingers touching his hair a little. “And I happen to think that is a wonderful idea.”

“Good, because I want you by my side.” He said. 

“I will be, from now on.” She replied. 

“Then anything that the world can throw at us Polly, we can handle, I promise you that.” He leaned in and kissed her quickly. “As long as we have each other, we can do this. The rest of the world be damned.”


	24. Chapter 24

Polly put the plates out for dinner, calling in to the house in Greek that it was in fact time to eat. Very soon her mother, Tracy, Ben and the twins all appeared. Her heart swelled. She had never had much family, it had been just her parents and her as she was growing up. This made her happy, this was what she had always wanted. Family.

Now she had one. It was a little unconventional. A little different, but it was hers and she loved it. She sat down next to Ben. He took her hand and kissed the back of it smiling brightly at her. She could tell that he was thinking the very same thing as she was. He had the family he had always been dreaming and striving for. Together, they had achieved it. She began to pass the food, filling her plate, while cutting up the things for the twins.

There was nothing that made her smile more than watching Tracy interact with the Ari and Alex. Polly knew Ben was in love with them, but his sister was completely smitten with them. She held Ari on her lap and was feeding the little girl pieces of feta off her own plate while Polly finished up making her dinner. “Do you want to put her in her high chair?” She asked motioning to her. 

Tracy barely glanced at Polly, continuing to smile at the little girl who sat on her lap. “No, I think she’s fine here. Aren’t you my poppet?” She smiled. 

She nodded. “Uh huh Tea Tee.” Ari replied. “I tay here mama.” 

Polly grinned. “And let me guess Alex, you’re going to stay on YiaYia’s lap?” 

Alex shook his head no, struggling to get down. He made his way around the table and soon appeared next to her on Ben’s lap. “No papa, I want papa.” He said and sunk back in to him. 

Ben’s eyes grew wide looking down at him. “Wha…who told you to call me Papa?” 

Before the boy could answer Helena raised her hand. “I did. You are a more proper papa to him, Nico never was, may god rest his soul,” She said crossing herself. “And since I don’t think you’re going to be leaving any time soon… you’re not are you?” 

Ben smiled shaking his head. “No, their papa is not.”

“Well, then there is no sense in them still calling you Ben? Papa it is.” She smiled. “Don’t you agree Polly?”

Polly looked at her mother and narrowed her eyes, but then just shook her head and smiled. “I do. I’m not letting him go at all, he’s stuck with us. Whether he likes it or not.” She grinned. “We’re keeping Papa, right babies?”

“Right! Papa is mine!” Alex said raising a chubby fist in triumph. 

“No! Awex! Papa is mine!!” Ari said. “Dis my papa!”

Polly laughed. “He’s both your papa’s. You both get to keep him. And so does mama, which makes mama very, very happy.” Polly leaned in and kissed Ben. 

Alex made a disgusted noise from between them. “No kissies! Dinner!”

All of the adults laughed and settled back, eating their dinner. Polly smiled a little, never guessing that the man she loved would be being called papa by her twins. She never would have guessed there would ever be a man in her life. She had accepted that. How wild and wonderful the world could be if you just let it. 

She was about to get a little more of the pastitsio when the doorbell rang. She looked towards the hall a small frown on her face. “Who on earth could that…no wait, I know who it is…”

“Jai.” Ben said starting to get up. 

“No you stay there, I’ll go.” She said. She pushed the chair out, heading to the door and opening it to reveal the very large man with the two bags. “Well, you do have excellent timing. Come on in, it’s dinner time and there is more than enough to try and fill that hollow leg of yours.”

Jai looked at her, frowning slightly. “Are you sure, I mean after…”

She nodded. “Positive.”

He brought the bags in to the house, setting them in the foyer. He followed her deeper in to the back of the house, into the dining room. He stood in the door way, the little boy bashfulness that he hid coming out in spades. “Hello.” He said.

Ben looked up at him, a slight frown on his face. Polly could see that he wanted to say something to him, but with the rest of the family there, he wasn’t going to. He sighed, motioning towards a chair. “Have a seat, we were just starting dinner. Like always there is way more than enough.”

Jai nodded, sitting down next to Tracy. Ari instantly reached for him working her small fingers in a grasping motion. “Tea Tee, I sit on To Jai!” Jai laughed, taking her from Tracy, kissing her head, Ari settled in and went back to eating. She looked up at him, pointing at Ben and announcing quite proudly. “Dat Awex and Arwe’s papa.” 

Jai laughed a little. “It is now? Is he a good papa?”

She nodded and stuffed a half olive in her mouth. “He kissies mama and we go to oat ten. We get fishies and crabbies, but they pins.” She worked her little fingers as she stuffed another half in, talking through the chewing. “He sings songs and he wuves us.”

Polly grinned. “Ari, no more talking with your mouth full, finish eating first. Theo Jai will be very happy to hear about just how wonderful your papa is after dinner. Okay?”

Jai looked at Polly. “So you really do mean to keep him then?”

Polly smiled, nodding. “I do, I lasted all of what, 15 minutes after I got back to the house. Did you really think I wasn’t going to?” 

Jai shook his head. “No I knew it. After I drove with him back to the hotel, I pretty much knew. I heard what he said to her after I punched him, and what he said to me. I know he loves you. The three of you are very, very lucky to have him.”

“I count in all this too you know.” Her mother pipped up. 

“Mama!” Polly said, putting her head in her hand. “Really?”

“What!?” She said. “If it hadn’t been for me, you would still be back in the house in London moping around. All of this, this is all me.”

Ben burst out laughing. “You know darling, Helena has a point.”

“Oh my god, you are always on her side.” Polly said, mid-dishing out of Jai’s food. 

“He’s always on my side, because, I am always right.” She smiled. “For once, in your entire life, you can actually say it. That I, your mother am right.” 

“Never!” Polly said putting the plate in front of Jai. “Never in a million years. I will say this though thank you.”

Jai laughed a little. “Aww, that was sweet. Can I get adopted in to this family?” 

Tracy pipped up, “You could get married in to this family.” She waggled her eyebrows at the younger man.

“Oh, you can just stop it right now.” Ben said. “You realize that is who gave your sweet baby brother this hideous black eye.” 

“I do, and are you sorry for it?” Tracy asked him. 

“I am, terribly.” He said leaning in a little to her, putting on his best flirt. Polly had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “Perhaps you should punish me later for marring your brother’s pretty face.”

“Perhaps I should.” Tracy winked at him. 

“Oh this is enough,” Ben said. He looked at Jai. “Are you really sorry?”

“I am, you were right, I should have listened to you. The cars on Rebecca’s crazy train go from one station to the next.” He said. “I really did think I was doing the right thing in the moment. I just am a hit first ask questions later type of mate, and I am sorry for that.”

Polly watched Ben eye him a second before there was a slight nod of the head. She rolled her eyes. She would never understand men. “Is this all done now? Can we simply eat dinner and enjoy our evening?” She asked. 

“Of course darling.” Ben smiled. “Anything you’d like.”

“Good, after dinner you can help me plot my revenge.” She said. 

“Polly, we have been over that.” Ben started. 

“Oh no, I quite think I’d like to see what she’s got mate.” Jai laughed, between bites of his dinner. 

“Don’t encourage her.” Ben replied. 

Polly scoffed. “Oh, I am already encouraged.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Twins would be calling Tracy and Jai thea and theo.. which is Greek for Aunt and Uncle!


	25. Chapter 25

Ben was not entirely sure how he had managed to keep Rebecca and Polly away from each other, but in the four days since he had been back, he had accomplished said herculean task. He was rather pleased with himself. He had done it, but he knew that this peace was not going to last very long. Eventually they were going to cross paths, and when they did, well, he hoped the fall out was containable to the very small and immediate area. 

To say that things around the set were very different, could possibly be the largest understatement of the last few centuries. Rebecca had been, almost contrite, and avoided Ben unless they were working directly in a scene. She wasn’t trying to hang on him, or do any of the other things that she had been doing before. She sat in her chair, torturing her assistant and no one else. 

Ben didn’t know what he had done to deserve this kind of luck, but he was going to take it. They only had a little over two weeks left of filming. All he wanted to do was finish up and get home to London so he and Polly could start their life together.

He walked into his trailer and found the object of his affection on the phone. He was used to this sight now. She heard the door, looked up and grinned at him. She blew a kiss at him, then turned her attention back to the calendar in her lap. He thought it was adorable that she took being his actual assistant so seriously. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the small kitchenette, heading back by her. He sat down, pulling her feet in to his lap, taking her shoes off. She watched him, her eyebrow peaked. He walked his finger over the top of her bronze foot, over her ankle, her shin, her knee, and up the edge of her skirt. 

She wagged a finger at him, pointing at the phone and then held up a single digit. He let his finger just gently trace there, with a look of daring on his face. She winked at him, and jotted down in the book, finally speaking. “Yes, I can assure you that he is more than glad to give you this interview. And thank you so much for giving him the chance. I hope that you are enjoying the wrap up of your leave.” She nodded, chewing the end of her pen, laughing a little. “Yeah, I think this is the way to come back, definitely. Well it was nice talking to you and I can’t wait to see you and the baby in four weeks. Have a nice rest of your day.” Polly finished, hanging up the phone and looked at him. “I will have you know, that your girl is amazing. Completely amazing.” 

“I could have told you that, but what did you do now?” He asked, his hand beginning to slide up her leg more.

“I secured you an exclusive interview with the tug boat gate reporter, as her return piece. It’s going to be the biggest piece of her career. She thinks it is so wonderful that you had this fantastic idea to allow her to have such a wonderful exclusive.” She smiled at him. 

“My idea?” He grinned. 

“Yup, totally your idea.” She giggled. “Totally your idea that Karon and I came up with this morning.” 

Ben raised his eyebrow. “I’m not sure how I feel with the two of you conspiring against me.” 

“You should enjoy it, stuff will get done.” She laughed, leaning up wrapping her arms around his neck. “How was shooting?”

“Good, I came in to see if you wanted to go and get some lunch with me, but I could be persuaded to stay here. I could find something here to eat.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You know… Something.”

She shook her head and pushed him back away from her. “Nope Lunch sounds good. Come on, after you get done with that, I have to get home, Ari is giving mum a fit. She’s cutting that molar and has that cold. Which means she just does not want her yiayia. So I am going to leave you to finish working and get home to our baby girl. You don’t have too much to finish do you?” She sat back looking at him. 

“No, not really.” He smiled. “I should be home, just around dinner time, or just after, but certainly in enough time to get them to bed.”

She nodded. “I am sure she is going to want you as soon as she sees you.”

“She is turning into a bit of a papa’s girl isn’t she?” He grinned.

“A horrible one. I swear. You’re creating that monster. You remember that.” Polly said, as she stood and stretched. 

Ben stood up with her, smiling. “Well, I will, let’s hope that she is our only one, can you imagine us with a whole bevy of daughters?” 

“Perish the thought.” She shook her head. 

Ben laughed, pulling her in to his arms, kissing her. “You make me happy Polly, I just want you to know that, no matter what happens. You make me happy.”

She smiled. “You make me happy too, but it’s really hard to take you serious when you’re in makeup. I want you to know that.” 

He laughed a little. “Thanks.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to the door, opening it for her. “I am glad to see that my hard work providing for my family make you giggle.”

Polly stopped him, she had opened the door and was one step out. She turned a little and looked up at him. “Do you know what it does to me when you say things like that? Calling us your family?”

He lowered his head, capturing her mouth and kissing her. “I do, and I mean it. You are mine now. I am never leaving you again.” She grinned and turned back around and finished heading down the few steps. Ben follow her to towards the catering truck. He was happy simply to be with her. They got to the craft services area and he sat her down. “I’ll get you a plate love. Just you sit right there.”

She nodded. “Anything you wish.”

Ben left her, going over and looking at the great spread of food. He looked up, and saw Rebecca come in from the other side of the small tented area. He held his breath, hoping that she would simply walk through and not stop. But of course, that was not going to happen. His good fortune ran out. 

Polly saw her. He could see Polly’s ire begin to rise, he could watch her try hard to contain herself. He prayed she would be able too, he’d not blame her if she did make some kind of scene. In all honesty, he’d actually probably like it, but he wanted desperately to save her from the public embarrassment. He quickly finished assembling their plates, heading back and sitting down. “Just ignore her, she’s nothing compared to you, alright, remember that.”

Polly nodded, beginning to tuck in to her plate of food. She tried to not look in Rebecca’s direction, but Ben could tell she was having a very hard time controlling herself. But she was doing a fairly good job, until Rebecca came over and put her hand on his shoulder. “What are you doing?” Polly hissed out. 

Rebecca looked at her, something flashing in her eyes, Ben could see it. “I came over simply to ask him a question about this afternoons filming.”

“Then ask him, but you need to remove you hand from his shoulder.” Polly said, leaning forward. “Before I remove your arm from your body.”

“Oh I would very much like to see you try.” Rebecca spat back. “Ben can tell me himself if he wants me to not touch him. He’s a big boy, he can fight his own battles. Not like you, where you need Jai to fight yours.”

“You know, I’ve heard people talk about just how crazy you are, and I am sure of it now. You can’t go around assaulting people’s boyfriend’s you know. That’s exactly what you did. You assaulted him. You are incredibly lucky that he is a gentleman. Because if I had stuck around that night, I would have made sure that charges would have been filed against you.” Polly said with great venom in her voice. “I also would have done way worse to you then what Jai did to him, I would have made sure you needed more than a week off of filming.”

Ben watched as Rebecca made a face and stepped back a little. She rolled her eyes at Polly. “You know he’s going to get tired of slumming with you. You and those two little monsters that you have, and that crazy old women that you have as a mother. He’ll get sick of you and he will eventually end up with me. Just you watch. He and I are meant to be together.”

Before Ben had a chance Polly had hold of Rebecca’s hair and drug her face down into his plate of food. Rebecca let out a sound somewhere between a strangled cat and a chipmunk going through a blender. Ben jumped up and grabbed Polly before she could inflict any more damage, pulling her close in to his arms against his chest. 

“Don’t you ever…Let go of me Ben, I am going to kill her…” Polly said struggling in his grip.

“No you’re not. Come on, let’s go.” He said firmly. 

Rebecca was still making strangled little noises. “This isn’t over you…you…bitch!”

Polly looked at her, and launched in to the funniest and foulest Greek Ben had ever heard Polly say. “Eísai trelí̱ pórni̱ kai elpízo̱ óti i̱ epómeni̱ ánthro̱pos pou angízei to syneidi̱topoií̱sete protoú na párete opoiadí̱pote ef̱charísti̱si̱ kai den échete poté xaná éna állo orgasmó .” 

Ben began to laugh. He couldn’t help himself. Rebecca glared at him as food dripped down her face. “What did she say?”

“You don’t want to know,” He replied. “Come on Polly, let’s go.” He grinned and kissed her head. He led her out of the tented area, past the few other Greek speakers who were chuckling to themselves at what Polly had said. “You couldn’t have just flipped her off?”

“She’s lucky I didn’t do more to her.” Polly replied in a huff.

Ben stopped, turning her to face him. He leaned in and kissed her deeply. He broke the kiss and looked at her, grinning. “I love you Polly. That right there, makes up for me getting my ass handed to me by Jai. It also shows me, to never, ever get on your bad side.” 

“Damn straight, never piss me off.” She said, a smile pricking at the corners of her mouth. 

“Come on, I have a feeling, we are going to end up being done for the day, because someone is going to go and throw a fit.” Ben laughed leading them back towards the trailers. 

“Well, hell, if I knew all it took to get you home with me, was that, I’d have done it sooner.” Polly said, lacing her fingers with his. 

“I bet you would have.” Ben laughed. “And I would have let you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The translation of what Polly says in Greek is....
> 
> You are a crazy whore and I hope that the next man who touches you realize it before you get any pleasure and you never have another orgasm again.


	26. Chapter 26

Polly sat on the low bench, looking out over the ocean. Everyone was milling about laughing and having a good time. Filming was finally over, Ben had managed to keep her from killing Rebecca and she had even promised to behave tonight for the cast party. She just couldn’t believe that their four months in Greece were coming to an end. Four more days and they would be back in London, and into a whole new set of adventures. 

She let her eyes wander around the party. She smiled a little to herself, she was going to miss everyone she had met. Well, everyone except Rebecca. She had a feeling though that there weren’t going to be too many people who were going to miss her. She had made everyone’s life miserable, from the art department to the director. Polly secretly hoped that she had burned a lot of bridges on this movie, because really, nothing would give her more pleasure.

She turned her head in time to see Jai walking towards her, glass of wine outstretched in his hand. “You looked sad out here alone.” He said simply, sitting.

She took it, swirling the liquid in her glass. She smiled at him. “I’m not sad, I’m just thinking.”

Jai laughed, sitting himself next to her. She was sure the bench groaned under his weight. “You shouldn’t look sad when you’re thinking.” He smiled and took a drink of his beer. He was quiet a second and looked at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She smiled and scooted next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m afraid things are going to change. We’ve been in a fishbowl here, Ben and I. Now we are going to be going home to London. I am worried that this is all going to actually end.”

Jai laughed a little. “Never, I see the way he looks at you. I want to look at some one that way someday. I’m not sure I ever will.” 

“You will, you are a great guy.” Polly smiled. “Ben and I are just, a little older then you are. We have less time you know…”

“Oh is that the reason?” Jai laughed and shook his head. He patted her knee. “He adores you, and the twins. He will love you, he will marry you, and he will care for you and Helena. He will make sure that you never need for anything.”

“And you know all of this how?” She asked him, grinning from ear to ear.

“Because I told him if he didn’t take care of all of you, I’d come and beat him again.” He grinned. 

Polly laughed out loud at that, leaning up and kissing his cheek. “You have become a good friend. I hate that you have to go back to Australia.”

“I got a movie that is filming there in four weeks. I want to see my mum and da. It’s going to be okay. But you can be sure that, any time I am in London, I am going to be coming to see the Cumberbatches. And wild horses couldn’t drag me away from your wedding, I will be there for that.” He replied, grinning.

“I’m not sure what kind of wedding it is going to be, I’ve already been married once. Your second wedding in Greek culture is a lot more subdued.” She smiled. 

“Yeah, but you are marrying him.” He said, throwing his head in the direction of Ben as he approached them. 

Polly felt the swell of her heart in her chest. She caught sight of him, smiling brightly as he walked over. She hoped she never stopped feeling like this. Like she was going to burst from seeing him. He saw the smile that she was beaming at him, and began to beam one back at her equally as large. She wanted to run to him, kiss him and take him to bed. She was, however, a lady and that would not be happening until later in the evening. 

He approached them, sitting on the other side of her. She left Jai’s warmth, and instantly snuggled in to Ben, leaning up and kissing him. “How are you?” She smiled. 

“Better, now that I have found you.” He smiled, leaning in and kissing her. “I’m glad you found yourself some company.”

“I did, but he was just leaving because I am going to shamelessly make out with you right here.” Polly said. She turned, looking at Jai with an ear to ear grin.

Jai laughed heartily and nodded. “Anything you ask.” He stood up, winking as he went. “I gotta get ready for my date with Tracy any way.”

Ben pulled a frown. Polly began to laugh as Jai left them alone. She snuggled in to him more, wrapping her arms around him kissing his shoulder. “You know he is just teasing you right?”

“Yes, but still, my sister…” He said. 

“Is lovely, single and a cougar.” Polly said, laughing heartily. “Allow her to have fun!”

Ben made a face, shaking his head. “I need to just put that all out of my head, and think about you. What were you saying about making out with me?” He looked down at her. 

“I was saying I think you need to, quite a bit. I think you then need to go into the lobby of this hotel, get us a room and take me upstairs and ravish me.” She grinned, leaning in to him. “How does that sound?” She let her hand fall high on his thigh.

“Like I am already two steps ahead of you.” He smiled. From somewhere unknown a key card appeared. “And I already called your mum. We have the whole night away.”

“Oh, well look at us.” She smiled. “It’s like you could read my mind.”

“I know, it’s also that I watched you slip off your knickers while we were getting ready. I figured we were all systems go for this evening.” He laughed, leaning in and kissing her deeply. 

Polly kissed him back, her hand winding up into his hair. She could feel his arms encircle her, pulling her in to his lap. She pulled away from the kiss and rested her forehead on his. She sighed contentedly. “You know, you kissed me, that night. You stumbled in to your room, you grabbed me up and kissed me, quite soundly.”

Ben pulled his head back to look in to her eyes. “I did?”

She nodded, smiling at the memory. “You did, but you were so drunk, and you had just accosted that woman. So I just undressed you. You were trying so hard, but you slurred every word you said. So I undressed you, rolled you on your side in case you vomited, and left you there dead to the world.”

Ben made a little face. “What a horrible impression of me.” 

“I don’t know. I think if I hadn’t been fired first thing the next morning, I would have found it a little endearing.” She laughed. “You even offered to do a few of your special tongue tricks.” She used her air quotes, winking at him. “But you kept falling asleep mid-sentence.”

“Oh god, I was drunk.” He said looking away. “I was such an embarrassment, and I caused you so much pain.”

She shrugged. “You have made up for it in spades Benedict.” 

He looked at her, a small smile on his lips. She knew how much he loved when she said his full name. “Yes?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “And I know you will continue to. I may be a little fearful for a bit, but I know that you love me, the twins and for some reason my meddling mother.” She pushed a lock of his hair from his eyes. “And I know that you will do right by us.”

“Every day for the rest of my life.” He said. 

“Good, then take me to bed.” She smiled. Ben grinned at her, and before she knew what was happening she was being hoisted in to the air. She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you Benedict.”

“And I love you Hippolyta.” He grinned, as he made his way through the crowd. 

Polly was never surer of that then in that single moment.


	27. Chapter 27

Helena hugged Tracy, stepping away from her and rubbing her eyes. “You will be back in the U.K soon won’t you?”

Tracy nodded. “Very soon. I am sure Mummy is going to want me, and will be calling me back. Especially if Ben does what he has been hinting at. Someone will need to talk her down from the stratosphere and as much as Pop is a very calming force in her life…” She trailed off. 

Helena nodded, hefting a twin up on her hip. “Thank you for all your help these past months. It’s been hard keeping everything from Polly. I wouldn’t have been able to help Ben if it hadn’t been for you.”

“Oh, it’s been my pleasure. I’ve never, ever seen my baby brother be so happy. Polly is so very good for him. She gives him everything that he has always wanted. A woman and a family to love. I didn’t mind helping at all. And Besides I am completely enamored of my darling niece and nephew. Well, my soon to be.” Tracy smiled as she rubbed the other twins’ back.

Helena smiled. “Our plan has worked.”

“It has. Two crafty old ladies getting their youth together. We have certainly done it. Huzzah to us.” Tracy laughed a little. “How do you think Polly will handle going home to the new house? I told my brother buying a house without telling a woman was a terrible idea.”

“I think she will handle it about as well as she always does. Terribly. But, she won’t have much of a choice, the other one if completely empty.” Helena smiled. “Ben can be very secretive and sneaky when he needs to be.”

“You have no idea.” Tracy laughed. “You have no idea. You should have seen him when he was a teenager.”

“Oh, you will have to tell me later.” She laughed. 

“I will.” Tracy replied. 

Helena looked up when Ben and Polly came out of the house, pink faced and grinning. She smiled, she had never seen her daughter be happier in her whole life. It warmed her heart. She knew from the second Ben entered their door and held Ari that he had been the one for her. Of course Polly was stubborn like her father, it took her a great deal more time to figure that out. But Helena had known the second that he had appeared. 

Ben smiled down at her and kissed her. Alex made a noise from her arms, and started to giggle. “No papa! No more kissies! Kissies yucky!”

Ben looked at the little boy, coming over to him and plucking him from Helena’s arms, pulling him in close. “But, I love your mama so very much my boy. I just have to kiss her. Just like I have to kiss you.” He kissed the little boy who simply beamed in the attention from him. “And I have to kiss your YiaYia.” He leaned in and kissed Helena on the cheek, winking at her. “And Thea Tracy.” He kissed his sister. “And Sissy.” He kissed Ari who was settled in Tracy’s arms. “And Mama,” He went back over and kissed Polly, slowly, Alex pinned between them. The baby laughing and trying to wrap around their necks. Ben pulled away and looked at him. “I just have to do it because I love my family.”

Alex beamed and snuggled in to Ben’s neck gripping on to his shirt. “Okay papa, you give kissies.” 

Helena went over and took Ari from Tracy, winking at her. “Are we ready to go? We don’t want to be late to the airport.”

“Mama, we are the only people who are going to be in the first class lounge, is there even a first class lounge here?” Polly asked. “I still think we would have been fine sitting in business.”

“We are not sitting in business with the twins again for 6 and a half hours, I think my legs are only just waking up. No, we have 4 seats in first class. We can take turns holding a twin and they can sit in a seat if they want too, or they both can after we have taken off, we are all going to be comfortable.” Ben smiled. “I can provide good seating for us, I am going to do it, okay?”

Polly set her mouth. Helena smiled. “I will be glad to sit in first class any time you would like me to sit there with you Ben.”

Ben smiled at her. “And you will from now on Helena. Any time we go anywhere, or if you go by yourself, you will always sit in first class.”

“You are just going to spoil her.” Polly mumbled. 

“She is the mother of the woman I love, there isn’t enough I can do to spoil her.” Ben leaned in and gave Polly another quick kiss before taking Alex to the car to get him in to it. 

Helena looked at Polly. “He is perfect.”

Polly rolled her eyes. “You let him spoil you too much.” 

“Polly, I can tell you, even if he had just became a barrister, and you met him, he would STILL spoil Helena and be like this with her. It is just a part of who he is.” Tracy said. “Now, come and give me a hug goodbye. I am going to miss you, my sweet thing.”

Helena watched with a heavy heart as Polly said goodbye to her new found friend. Ari made her way back in to her mother’s arms, and Helena was sure that she saw tears in Polly’s eyes as she walked away. Helena went over and kissed Tracy on the cheek one last time. “I will take good care of them until you can get back to London and help me.”

Tracy nodded. “I know you will. I think once my mum meets them you will find you have just as big, if not a bigger ally in her. She has wanted grandchildren from Benedict for so long and since my kids are all grown up, she is going to love getting this chance to play grandma again. And the twins are pretty wonderful, they will have their Nana and Pop Pop wrapped around their finger in no time, I can just see it now.”

“Do you think Polly knows?” Helena asked.

Tracy shook her head. “I don’t know, did she know the first time?” 

“If she did, she never let on and acted very surprised when she found out. So we will see.” She smiled. “We will have to see this time won’t we?”

“We certainly will. You will call me as soon as you know for sure?” Tracy asked. 

“Of course. The moment I am sure.” Helena smiled. She waved back to Polly who was waving at her, to come along. “I guess I should be going. I will see you soon then.”

“You will. Good bye Helena.”

“Goodbye Tracy.” She replied, heading to the car. She looked at Polly. “Are you ready to go to our new home?”

“New home? What new home?” Polly asked as she slid in to the seat. 

Ben looked over at her, starting the car. “Just couldn’t wait until we were in the airplane could you Helena?” He laughed a little and started down the drive way. 

“I thought we should have the argument done before we got in the air.” She replied. 

“Do you care to tell me what is going on?” Polly asked. 

“Well, babe…I bought us a house…” Ben said. 

Helena leaned back smiled as she listened to the comforting sounds of her only child shrieking, somewhere between horror and excitement. Yes, coming home to Greece had been exactly what she had hoped it would be.


	28. Chapter 28

Ben sat back on the little couch and looked at Polly. She fidgeted with her dress for the two hundredth time in the last ten minutes. Ben put his hand on her crossed knees, squeezing and smiling a little. “You look beautiful darling. Stop being a fuss pot.”

She looked at him and frowned. “I never expected to be doing this interview with you Ben. I am not meant to be on the telly.”

Ben nodded, leaning in and kissing her. “I know, but this affects you too. If I had listened to you that night, none of this would have happened. But, if I had listened to you, none of this would have happened. It’s sort of a vicious cycle really. So, I want you to sit beside me, in this interview, I want the world to know because of the mistakes that I made and I am fully aware that I made, I got the best gift, the most precious jewel of my life.”

Polly laughed softly, shaking her head. “Are you practicing? Because that just might work.”

“Ha ha,” Ben said. “Laugh all you want, but you know what I mean.”

Polly wrapped her hands around his that still sat on her knee and she nodded. “I do.” She said simply. “I am glad you think that this is what was supposed to happen, because, I seem to think that you got me fired for being a wanker. Then you stalked me a little, found out where I lived, and proceeded to barge in to my house. You bewitched my mother, lied to me about needing a Greek interpreter, and beguiled my children in to loving you.”

It was his turn to laugh. “Beguiled the twins into loving me?” 

“Yes.” She said. 

“And just what did I do to you?” He asked, amused by this point. 

Polly leaned in very closely to his ear. “You used your tongue tricks and your well-endowed penis to entrap me in your web of sex and carnal desires.” 

Ben sat back and started to laugh, heartily, at her. “Oh god, this is why I love you.”

“Because I make you laugh?” She asked, suddenly more at ease.

“Yes, that and because, I know you are completely serious.” He squeezed her hand as he wrapped her fingers with hers. 

Ben was just going to say something as the producer came over, smiling at them. She indicated that it was time for them to go and Ben stood up, pulling Polly to her feet. “Are you ready for this?” 

“As ready as I ever will be.” She said. 

“You’ll do great. I promise you, just be you.” He smiled. 

“That’s what I’m afraid of, I know exactly what I’m like.” She replied. 

Ben laughed, pulling her close to him and hugging her. “You will do great, and the whole world will know that I have the best girl and family in the world.”

“Ugh, I swear sometimes you make me a little sick.” She said and pushed his shoulder.

“I know but you love me anyway.” He replied. “You love me anyway.”

-o0o-

“…And honestly Monica, I’d like to get serious now if I may.” Ben said sitting forward on the couch. The host of the show, the woman he had grabbed those many months before gave him a very concerned look. 

“Of course Benedict.” She said. 

“I know I have issued statements, and sent press releases. I know that I have sent you and beautiful little Maxwell gifts and cards, and we have spoken on the phone. But, I think the whole world needs to hear it from my mouth to your ears here, on the telly.” He said as he sat forward and took her hands in both of his. “What I did was inexcusable. No woman, let alone a soon to be mother should ever be treated as such. And I hope that you will accept my most humble and sincere apology for any hurt that I may have caused you. There was no excuse for my actions. None, and I accept full responsibility for them. I strive to be a gentleman, and I was anything but that evening.” 

She smiled at him. “Oh Benedict. Of course, I accept whole heartedly. You have done so much for Maxwell and I since then, I can’t hold this against you. Given the circumstances of the evening, it was all just a horrible mistake.”

“It was. Who knew that cold medicine and a simple pain killer for my damaged rotator cuff would have such an adverse reaction for me? And honestly, when Polly wanted to drag me away from the line, I should have listened but I didn’t, so I owe her an apology as well.” He said, turning to look at her. His eyes twinkled in the bright lights. “Actually Monica, I think I have something better than that for her.”

The hostess of the program looked at him, eyebrow raised. “Something better than an apology? Benedict, we are on in the middle of the afternoon!” The audience tittered at her joke. 

Ben reached in to his pocket, and smiled. “I think I will be handling that this evening, but first I think I need to make my intentions known with this woman. Would that be alright?” 

Ben looked over at Polly, watching the color drain from her face as realization slowly began to seep in. Realization for Monica began to seep in as well. “Oh yes, I think that would be wonderful.” Ben could almost hear her producers shrieking at what was going to happen next. 

And suddenly, the rest of the world fell away, and it was simply he and Polly. There were no lights, no cameras, and no studio audience. There were simply the two of them. He got down on one knee in front of her and looked up at her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “From the moment I walked in to Karon’s office and I saw you sitting at your desk, your fingers twirled up in your hair, I knew I was in love with you. I just didn’t realize it. It took me a while, a very long while to come to the realization that you are the only person that I need. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?” He pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it up, waiting for her to say something. 

“Y..yes.” She said. “Yes!” 

The wall of sound from the audience was deafening, but it didn’t matter, all that mattered was his wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a kiss. He got the ring onto her finger. And somewhere in the back of his head he heard someone call for a commercial. He didn’t even care. He simply held her. “It’s official now, you’re stuck with marrying me.” He said quietly. 

“Oh, I’m not letting you go now.” She got out between her sobs. 

Ben just clutched her close. “Good, I never want you to let me go.” 

Monica come over touched both their shoulders. “Oh my, congratulations to you both, and thank you. Thank you so much. This will be the biggest story of my life!”

He smiled at her. “I promised you that I would give you something good…”

“And you delivered. We are completely square now.” She smiled and held her hand out. “Thank you. And good luck to you.”

“Thank you, and you’re welcome.” He said shaking her hand. 

Polly looked at him. “Good exclusive. Karon has taught you well.” She smiled and wiped her tears kissing him. 

“Well, two birds, one stone, I have been meaning to actually propose for weeks, and I thought, since you set this interview up, and promised some big exclusive, why not make it really good.” He shrugged walking off stage with her.

“You did. Good thinking, I may make a public relations spinner out of you yet.” She laughed and kissed him.

“I am a very quick study, what can I say.” He smiled.


	29. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it people… The FINAL chapter, The Epilogue. It’s so hard to believe that this is finally done, but, it is, and I am sad to see it go! I have loved and sweated and cried and worked hard on this fic! I hope you have loved it too! What was a small nugget of an idea, burst into this…and it’s been nothing short of, well AMAZING!
> 
> If you have a tumblr, please feel free to follow me I am cinderella1181 on there! 
> 
> Or subscribe to me on here!! Thanks a bunch for reading! I couldn't do this with out you!

Timothy walked in to the kitchen, smiling a little at the sight of the woman he loved busily making the last of lunch. They had been together too many years to count, and she still took his breath every chance he saw her. But he knew by the way she was beating the cake batter she was in a mood. He went over, placing his hand on her arm. “Darling, you’ll give yourself a stroke.” He said, perhaps a touch more merriment in his voice then necessary.

Wanda stopped, looking at him. “He didn’t even bother to call us! How on earth are you not in the very least upset at him?” 

“I didn’t say I was completely pleased with his actions, but darling he is a grown man. He is in love, with a darling woman, who you seem to like. Tracy adores her, there is no reason really for us to be this upset really. Now is there?” He asked, dipping his finger in the batter.

“I am his mother! His mother! After all the heart ache he has caused these last few months!” She said, slamming the whisk in the bowl, and turning to get the cake pans from the table. “I should have been the first person to know, I should not have had to watch him propose to her, on the telly with his great grandmothers ring! And just how on earth did he get his great grandmothers ring, I ask you!”

“Me.” Timothy said quietly. 

Timothy was sure in all of the years that they had been married he had never seen Wanda purse her lips quite so tightly at him. “So you knew?” She got out somehow. 

“I only knew he was going to propose. I did not know that he was going to do it on the telly in front of an entire enraptured nation darling.” He answered. “That you have to take up with your son when he gets here, with his fiancée, his soon to be acquired mother in law and the twins. Look at that, not even married and already a granny again.”

Wanda managed to set her lips into even more of a straight line. Timothy leaned in, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Tracy loves them. I am sure we will too.” 

“I love who?” A new voice said as it entered the kitchen. 

“Polly’s twins.” Timothy said and leaned back on the counter. 

“I do. Very much so. I am so very excited to get to see them. It’s been far too long since their thea has seen them.” She smiled, coming over to kiss her mother. “Their Nana will love them too, she just doesn’t know it yet.” Tracy came over, kissing Timothy on his cheek as well. “Helena sent me pictures of them in their little outfits this morning. Oh my, you are going to just melt mum.”

“Is no one concerned about the fact that Benedict is marrying someone he proposed to on the telly? The same one who embroiled him in the whole scandal that set off this whole chain of events that got him on this program?” Wanda asked exasperated. 

Timothy looked at Tracy, she shook her head no. He smiled. “Neither of us are concerned about it.”

“Concerned about what?” A new deep voice said as it entered the kitchen. 

Timothy looked over to see Benedict walk in with a little girl on his hip. She clung on his shirt quite tightly, her face pressed in to his neck, A stuffed dog under her arm. He was holding her like he had been born to hold a child. He looked at ease, and more importantly, happy. 

Tracy smiled, heading over to him. “Concerned about the fact that you proposed to Polly in front of several millions of people.” She held her hands out to the little girl. “Are you going to come see Thea Tracy poppet?”

She shook her head no clutching tighter to Benedict. “Awex bit me.” She held out her finger. “I stay wit papa.” 

He turned, kissing her head. “Go to Thea, I have to go and get yiayia, and mama okay?”

“Leave Awex in car!” She said, reluctantly holding her arms out for Tracy. 

Timothy couldn’t help but smile. He cast his eyes over at his wife, who had a rag clutched to her chest. He watched Tracy walk the little girl over. “Ariadne, this is your Nana Wanda. Can you say hello?”

The little girl buried her face in Tracy’s neck and peeked one eye at Wanda. “Hewwo Nana…I Arwe. Awex bit me.” She held out her finger for her new grandmother to inspect. 

Timothy watched any of the contention that Wanda had fade as she took the little girls hand. She examined the finger and gasped. “Oh dear, It looks as though it needs a nana kiss…do you think that would make it better?” 

He watched the little girl nod, and Wanda kiss the little girls finger. She wasn’t even done checking on it and Ariadne was pushing away from Tracy. She soon was settled in her nana’s arms. In that single second Wanda was lost to that little girl, and her curly pig tails. 

“No down papa! I want down!” Another tiny voice said as Benedict walked back in the kitchen with the other twin firmly in arm. Polly and Helena following closely behind. They saw Tracy and began to exchange pleasantries. 

Benedict brought the little boy right over to Timothy, smiling. “Dad, I would like you to meet your new grandson Alexander. Alex, meet your Poppy.”

Alex stopped squirming, and looked at him quite seriously. “Arwe tole my duckie!” 

“She did?” Timothy replied. 

“She did! So I tole it back and I bit her!” He stated, very seriously for someone who was not quite three years old. “Now, papa says I have to say sowwy! But she took Wuddles!”

“Oh dear me.” Timothy said, rubbing his chin. “This is a dilemma isn’t it my good man.” He held his arms out for the little boy. Alex pushed off of Ben and braced himself at arm’s length on Timothy’s chest to look at him deeply in his eyes. “I sadly think that your Papa may be right in this one. You should say you are sorry to your sister. “

“No wanna.” Alex said. He gave an epic pout, one that reminded him of when Ben was a baby. 

Timothy leaned in to the little boy’s ear and whispered. “If you do, Poppy will have a sweetie for you.” 

Alex looked at him, eyebrow raised, contemplating. “Arwe too?” 

Timothy chuckled, nodding. “You drive a hard bargain, but yes, Ari too.” 

Timothy set the little boy down who went over to where his sister was, sitting on his Nana’s lap. “Nana. I tell Arwe I sowwy.” He said, trying to climb up on to her other leg. 

Timothy laughed, and turned to Benedict. “He really is the very out in front twin isn’t he?” 

“He is. He is mean to her but is also fiercely protectively.” Benedict smiled. 

“You’ve managed to find yourself quite the family Ben.” Timothy said quietly, watching the children be doted on by the grandmother. 

“I have.” He smiled, as he held his hand out for Polly to join them. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her head. “Dad, I would like you to meet the future Mrs. Cumberbatch. Hippolyta Constantinides. Polly if you please.” Timothy watched in wonder as Ben looked deeply in her eyes and smiled. “She has turned my world upside down, she is the absolute bright spot in my night, and I love her with every fiber of my being.”

Polly smiled at Ben, and then turned her attention to him. “It’s very nice to meet you Timothy. Ben has told me so much about you already, I feel like I know you.” She smiled. 

Timothy smiled at her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “It is a distinct pleasure to meet you my darling, and no matter what mummy over there says or does,” He said gazing over at his wife who was completely enraptured with her new found grandchildren. “You have won her over because, you have given her two brand new grandchildren. And there is nothing in this world that she loves more than being a Nana.” 

“Three.” Polly said quietly. 

Benedict looked at her, “What?”

“Three, I was going to tell you later, but, it’s three, I’ve given you three children if that is alright?” She asked. 

Timothy watched a million emotions wash over his son’s face. Emotions he was sure he had on his when Wanda told him that he was to be a father for the first time himself. He felt his heart soar. He was wrong before. Now he had never seen his son look so happy. 

“That is absolutely the most right thing in the entire world.” He said and leaned in, taking her face in his hands. He kissed her deeply.

Timothy looked around his kitchen. It was filled with his new expanded family. And just then he realized just how lucky he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Polly, The Twins and everyone WILL be returning!!!


End file.
